RUSSIA HOST FIRST UEFA OPPONENT SINCE UKRAINE INVASION
As Europe focused its attention on the crunch Euro 2024 play-offs over the March international break, Serbia began preparations for the finals by travelling to Moscow, becoming the first UEFA member to play Russia in over two years.
The friendly, on March 21 at Dynamo Moscow’s VTB Arena, is unpalatable for much of Europe while war in Ukraine rages on, including for Russians residing in Serbia’s capital, Belgrade. “I don’t plan to watch it because it lacks sporting interest,” says Roman, one of the estimated 300,000 Russians who have moved to Serbia since 2022. On matchday, it is clear his fellow emigrants – many of whom have a pro-Western outlook – have not turned out to support their homeland either. “The match doesn’t make much sense because it’s unclear when Russia will participate in international competitions,” adds Roman.
Many of the Belgrade locals, though, are more sympathetic. For Milutin, a Serbian 20-something watching the match, Russia should be readmitted to UEFA immediately. “They are football players, they don’t have anything to do with the political situation, so Russia should be playing like every other country,” he says, echoing the sentiments of many Serbians, who often feel more positively towards Russia than the Russians in Belgrade do. “This match is great because it shows politics should not be involved in sport,” adds Milutin. “Every match should be enjoyed – that’s what sport is all about.”
Over in Moscow ahead of kick-off, the optics looked good for the hosts – a large crowd welcoming a strong side is already a win for Russia. “Tonight, we play with brothers!” declared the national team’s social media channels, echoing a common theme in the countries’ relationship. Serbia’s cultural and political links to Russia are stronger than those of any other European nation, and the connection extends to football. Two days after the international match, Red Star Belgrade and Zenit Saint Petersburg also met for a friendly, this time in Belgrade. The home end was filled with Russian flags, and both sets of players posed together for a photo carrying a banner with the Russian word for “Together.”
That show of solidarity was in part a response to the terrorist attack that
took place in Moscow a day before. Still, this is not the first time that the two nations have defied the wider international community in support of each other. Back in1995, the roles were reversed when Russia – with a team featuring current coach Valeri Karpin – became the first UEFA side to visit Belgrade after the Bosnian War led to Yugoslavia being banned on the eve of Euro ’92.
For Serbia though, this game was more than a family reunion. In the final international window before Dragan Stojkovic names his squad for their first-ever European Championship as an independent nation, the referee’s decision to send off their full-back Milan Gajic after just 21 minutes for a pull on Daniil Khlusevich inside the area put a dent in their preparations. Shortly after Anton Miranchuk converted the penalty, Russia doubled their lead; Serbia failed to clear a free-kick, allowing Maksim Osipenko to prod the ball past Chelsea goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic.
Serbia turned to their bench for the second half, with Aleksandar Mitrovic, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Filip Kostic coming on, but to little effect. Ten minutes after the restart, Aleksey Miranchuk made it three, before Ivan Sergeev completed a comfortable 4-0 win in stoppage-time.
The result means that since receiving their FIFA and UEFA bans, Russia have played12 games and lost only once. They have visited Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Qatar, Uzbekistan, Iran and Turkey to play Kenya. Last year, Iraq became the first team to travel to Russia since 2021, followed by Cameroon and Cuba. Paraguay would have been the latest team to visit Moscow, but their game was cancelled in the wake of the attack on the city.
It is an impressive run, but the question is: where do Russia go next? The Russian Football Union toyed with joining the Asian Football Confederation, and came close to taking part in the Central Asian FA Nations Cup last summer, before ultimately declining. UEFA briefly opened the door to re-entry by lifting the ban on the Under-17 team, but reversed that decision under pressure from a selection of other members.
Yugoslavia were not readmitted until December1995, when the Dayton Agreement ended the Bosnian War, and it seems a similar resolution will be required here. “The only way back is, at the very least, stopping the war in Ukraine,” concludes Roman.
“Tonight, we play with brothers!” The Russian national team’s social media