Multiple reports claim that the Russian football federation could leave UEFA to join the Asian Confederation following the sanctions imposed on Russian clubs and the national team.
“Following the initial decisions adopted by the FIFA Council and the UEFA Executive Committee, which envisaged the adoption of additional measures, FIFA and UEFA have today decided together that all Russian teams, whether national representative teams or club teams, shall be suspended from participation in both FIFA and UEFA competitions until further notice,” read UEFA’s joint statement with FIFA back in February.
Russian team, Spatak Moscow were kicked out of Europa League while Russian National Team were denied of World cup qualifiers following Russia invasion of Ukraine.
In response to these events, Russian website Championat have asked the opinion of high-profile personalities on whether Russia should just leave UEFA and join the AFC.
“The Asian Football Confederation? I don’t even know if this can happen,” former Manchester United winger Andrei Kanchelskis told Championat.
“While this is all at the level of conversations, I don’t think UEFA will hand [Russia] such a serious suspension. Although we all think, [or] hope, that everything turns out differently.
“Both the Russian national team and our clubs need to move on, and play, no matter how the situation develops.
“If the Asian football confederation is a real option for Russia, then why not?
“I worked in Asia [and] played in Saudi Arabia. It would be interesting for me to watch such matches.”
If this should go as planned, it means that Russian clubs will now play the Asian Champions League, with others competing in the AFC Cup after leaving the Europa League.
While, the national team would compete in the Asian Cup.
