In his interview with The Guardian, Aleksandar Čeferin, President of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), said that freedom is gradually decreasing in European countries.
According to him, people can no longer express their opinions freely.
“I’m not very optimistic about Europe in terms of social development. There is the rise of populists and freedom of expression no longer exists on the far right. In dictatorships you are imprisoned, in so-called democracies you are destroyed in the media. “The people are tired of this, they can’t speak freely anymore,” he said.
In the spring of 2022, the International Football Federation (FIFA) and UEFA decided to suspend the participation of the Russian national team, as well as all Russian clubs, in all competitions controlled by these organizations. In 2023, Valery Karpin’s team did not hold a single meeting with European teams.
The match against the Serbian national team is scheduled to be played in Moscow at the VTB Arena in March 2024. The last match of the teams took place in the UEFA Nations League Group B group stage under the management of Stanislav Cherchesov and resulted in a 5:0 victory for the Serbians.
Previously, the Ukrainian coach appeared The main referee of the Zenit match.