In an interview with The Telegraph, the president of UEFA, Alexander Ceferin, announced his intention to remove the restrictions applied to Russian youth teams.
According to Ceferin, plans to allow youth teams in 2023 have been stymied amid backlash.
He added that he wanted to ease the restrictions to not punish children "for something they are not guilty of."
Moreover, the official stated that the ban on the removal of senior teams will not be lifted until the end of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
On September 26, 2023, the UEFA executive committee allowed Russia's under-17 teams to participate in international tournaments. It was assumed that the women's and men's national teams would hold their matches without a flag or anthem and not on Russia's territory.
On October 10, UEFA told "RIA Novosti" that the issue was removed from the agenda because "it was impossible to find a technical solution to allow the Russian teams to play."
