Uefa is confronting a politically sensitive issue as it states it will examine FC Sevastopol's request for a license to enter Russia's professional FNL 2A division. This action would contravene regulations that forbid clubs from Crimea, which Russia has controlled since 2014, from taking part in tournaments run by the Russian Football Union. The club's possible entry has not yet been decided.

Promotion controversy involves fake teams

The matter is made more complex by the promotion contest in the lower FNL 2B league, which Sevastopol recently won as the top team in its group. That league contained five clubs asserting they represent Ukrainian regions under occupation. These included copycat teams of Ukrainian clubs Shakhtar Donetsk and Zorya Luhansk, which were allowed to join in 2024 and this year. The imitation Shakhtar club, hosting its games in Taganrog, Russia, placed second in the group and is now positioned for promotion. Sevastopol and Rubin Yalta were themselves permitted to join FNL 2B in 2023, even though a ban has been in place.

Uefa's decision from 2014 clearly said that clubs from Crimea are barred from events organised by the Russian Football Union (RFU). The Russian Football Union has argued that FNL 2B is an amateur league it does not manage, a possible loophole, even though teams at that level were said to be professional. The FNL 2A division, which Sevastopol seeks to join, does not dispute that its clubs are professional.

UAF demands Russia's expulsion

The Ukrainian Association of Football has officially asked Uefa and Fifa to remove Russia for what it describes as a major breach of their rules. The UAF points to Uefa's 2014 ruling that Crimean clubs must not play in RFU-organised competitions. In October 2025, the UAF requested that Uefa examine the legal status of the imitation clubs, but a response to that request is still pending.

The RFU continues to be a member of Uefa and Fifa, but new demands for its removal would likely follow if Sevastopol's promotion is allowed. This situation emerges as Russia recently participated in a Fifa-organised tournament for the first time since its military action against Ukraine began, placing 19th in a new under-15 World Cup. The UAF's official protest indicates that allowing clubs from occupied regions into Russian leagues directly tests the authority of football's governing bodies and their own rules.

Background and full detail: The Guardian