The boss of Shakhtar Donetsk has some strong words for FIFA president Gianni Infantino. And honestly, you can't blame him for being angry.
Sergei Palkin, the club's chief executive, is calling on Infantino to actually visit Ukraine and see the war damage firsthand. This comes after Infantino suggested it might be time to let Russia back into world football. Yeah, you read that right.
Tuesday marked four years since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The numbers are staggering - up to 140,000 Ukrainians killed and 325,000 Russians, according to The Center for Strategic International Studies.
FIFA and UEFA kicked Russian clubs and national teams out of all competitions back in February 2022. But earlier this month, Infantino said the ban "has not achieved anything, it has just created more frustration and hatred." He thinks it should be lifted.
Ukraine's sports minister wasn't having it. Matvii Bidnyi called those comments "irresponsible" and "infantile." He pointed out that over 100 footballers are among the 650-plus Ukrainian athletes and coaches killed in the war.
Shakhtar's Frustration Goes Deeper
Palkin's anger isn't just about Infantino's recent comments. Shakhtar has been fighting with FIFA for four years now over something called Annex 7.
This regulation let foreign players in Russia and Ukraine cancel their contracts when the war started. Sounds fair on the surface, right? But Shakhtar says it cost them around €60 million ($70.65m) when about 15 players walked away without the club getting any transfer fees.
"I suggest Infantino visits Ukraine to witness the destruction first hand rather than making this kind of irresponsible statement from a distance," Palkin told ESPN in an exclusive interview. "Reintegrating Russia while Ukraine suffers from this war, it is a betrayal of the sport's 'one family' claim."
He's got a point. Instead of talking about bringing Russia back, Palkin thinks FIFA should focus on helping rebuild Ukraine's sports infrastructure. The war has destroyed facilities across the country, leaving Ukrainian football in what he calls a "very, very critical situation."
UEFA Gets Praise While FIFA Gets Slammed
Here's where it gets interesting. While Shakhtar is furious with FIFA, they can't stop praising UEFA and its president Aleksander Ceferin.
Sporting director Dario Srna didn't hold back: "FIFA didn't do nothing for us. This is disrespectful." In contrast, he said Ceferin was available "24/7" and even called French president Emmanuel Macron to help get players in and out of Ukraine.
"He didn't behave like the president of UEFA, he behaved like a human being," Srna added. That's quite the contrast to how they view FIFA's response.
For football fans and anyone following the sport's political side, this situation matters. It shows how global football governance can deeply affect clubs caught in geopolitical conflicts. And for Shakhtar, who've been forced to play "home" games abroad for years now, the frustration is completely understandable.
FIFA declined to comment when ESPN reached out. The silence speaks volumes, doesn't it?
