“679 Ukrainian girls and boys will never be able to play football — Russia killed them. And it keeps killing more while moral degenerates suggest lifting bans, despite Russia’s failure to end its war,” he said in a post on X.

“Future generations will view this as a shame reminiscent of the 1936 Olympics,” Sybiha added, referring to the Olympic Games hosted in Germany, which served as a propaganda opportunity for the ruling Nazi Party.

The decision to ban Russia from FIFA was made right after Russia’s invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, in solidarity with Ukraine.

“Football is fully united here and in full solidarity with all the people affected in Ukraine. Both Presidents (of FIFA and UEFA) hope that the situation in Ukraine will improve significantly and rapidly so that football can again be a vector for unity and peace amongst people,” a statement from the organization said.

The latter sentiment, of serving as a vector for unity and peace, is Infantino’s argument to justify possibly bringing Russia back into the league, arguing that the ban hadn’t accomplished “anything, it has just created more frustration and hatred.”

In keeping with this theme, Infantino argued that FIFA should look into changing its rules to “enshrine in our statutes that we should actually never ban any country from playing football because of the acts of their political leaders.”

CONTROL OF DONETSK IS ‘ONE REMAINING ITEM’ IN UKRAINE-RUSSIA PEACE NEGOTIATIONS, RUBIO SAYS

“Somebody needs to keep the ties open,” he argued.

In the same interview, he pushed back against a proposed ban on Israel and a proposed boycott of the United States due to President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. He also stood by his decision to grant Trump a peace prize.