The President of the Football Federation of Ukraine was suspended this Monday by his country’s court for two months on charges of corruption, which weakens the joint candidacy for the organization of the 2030 World Cup with Portugal and Spain.
Arrested at the end of November on charges of embezzlement of funds intended for the construction of a plant for the production of artificial turf for football fields, Andrei Pavelko was suspended from work for a month already in February.
The official did not actually carry out the punishment, saying that the statutes of UEFA and FIFA do not allow football cases to be considered in civil proceedings: the federation has already announced that it will appeal again.
FIFA and UEFA are considering excluding candidatures from countries that do not respect the immunity of their federations to the justice of their nations.
Portugal and Spain called on Ukraine to join the candidacy of Iberia as a sign of solidarity and assistance in the reconstruction of the country, but the protracted war with Russia also does not contribute to joint intentions.
In June, FIFA will announce valid nominations to host the 2030 World Cup, with the winner to be announced at the organization’s congress in 2024.
Problems with the Ukrainian justice system and the prolongation of the war are two factors that various international media have used to suggest that the Iberian countries are considering replacing Ukraine with Morocco, which never hosted the event, having lost its 1994 candidacy. , 1998, 2006, 2010 and 2026 won by a consortium that includes the US, Mexico and Canada.
In addition to being a geographically close country, the inclusion of Morocco will allow for the first time the contest be held on two different continents, thus also responding to a project that involves European Greece, Asian Saudi Arabia and Africa. Egypt.
The increase to 48 competing teams opened up the possibility for wider organizations in terms of organizing the continents.
Member of the UEFA Executive Committee Pavelko, who intends to be re-elected to this post at the congress in Brussels on April 5, claims that he is a victim of a conspiracy and guarantees that he will not resign, relying on the FIFA and UEFA statutes. about the non-intervention of civil justice.
Argentina and Uruguay nominated South America, which intends to mark the centenary of the competition that started it, but it has been strengthened by the inclusion of Paraguay and Chile, while Bolivia’s participation is open.