In brief
Alternative football World Cup winners accused of “sport separatism” by Ukrainian government
Ministers target team of Transcarpathia Hungarians
The Football Federation of Ukraine has also threatened to impose sanctions on players.
Meanwhile, Zhdanov has been sending letters to Sport ministries of other countries, asking them to boycott the FIFA World Cup, which is starting today in Russia.
In a statement, ConIFA —the body that organized the alternative World Cup— says it is “alarmed” by the stance taken by authorities in Kiev, and recalls that “players, administrators and officials of the Karpatalya football team have never expressed any separatist sentiments or ambitions. The team has a long-standing, demonstrable history of publicly embracing the region’s dual heritage.”
The crisis coincides in time with a raid by the Ukrainian police at the headquarters of a Romanian cultural center in Chernivtsi, in Northern Bukovina.