Live: Ukraine

❗️The Guardian: UEFA paid nearly €11 million in “solidarity funds” to Russian football clubs after the invasion of Ukraine. Such payments are normally given to clubs that have not performed well enough domestically to qualify for European competitions, with the aim of “maintaining competitive balance.” Despite being banned from international tournaments, Russian football clubs received about €3.3 million each for the 2022–23 and 2023–24 seasons, as well as €4.2 million for the 2024–25 season. Meanwhile, five Ukrainian clubs from Odesa, Kharkiv, and Mariupol have received no solidarity payments over the past two seasons because they are “located in an active war zone.” “As a result of our communication with both the national association and UEFA representatives, we were told that the obstacle to these payments lies in some completely unclear requirements from a Swiss bank, allegedly related to the geographical location of the football clubs in a ‘war zone.’ We have received no further details or any legal justification for these restrictions,” club executives said. 🪐 Subscribe to Live: Ukraine