The Federation of Automobile and Motorcycling of Ukraine (FAU) said the alleged offices are located in Crimea, Sevastopol and parts of the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions. Ukraine and the United Nations recognise those territories as part of Ukraine, while Russia claims them as part of its territory.
The Ukrainian federation said it has asked FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem to suspend Russia’s FIA membership, restore strict restrictions on Russian competitors and publicly reaffirm that sporting authority cannot be transferred into territories belonging to another FIA member without authorisation.
FAU President Oleksander Feldman accused the FIA of failing to respond adequately to earlier complaints submitted to its Senate and Ethics Committee. The Ukrainian federation has also filed a case with the FIA International Court of Appeal, according to its latest statement.
At the centre of the dispute is the FIA’s recent decision to lift restrictions on Russian and Belarusian competitors. The World Motor Sport Council decided in August 2026 to allow competitors from the two countries to participate under their national flags, symbols and anthems, reversing restrictions introduced following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The FIA’s original measures had prohibited international competitions in Russia and Belarus and prevented Russian and Belarusian national teams from participating in international events. Individual competitors could participate only under neutral conditions and subject to specific requirements.
The Ukrainian government has also criticised the reversal. Youth and Sports Minister Matvii Bidnyi said the reasons that led to the original restrictions had not disappeared and urged the FIA to reconsider its decision. Ukraine has argued that restoring Russian participation under national symbols risks normalising Russia’s involvement in international sport while the war continues.
The FAU's latest complaint, however, goes beyond the question of whether Russian drivers should compete. It argues that the alleged operation of Russian motorsport offices in Ukrainian territory creates a separate issue under FIA rules governing national sporting authorities. The Ukrainian federation says the FIA recognises only one national sporting authority for each country and that Russia’s alleged activities in the disputed territories therefore require investigation.
The dispute now puts pressure on the FIA to determine whether the allegations against the Russian federation amount to violations of its statutes and sporting regulations. Until the relevant FIA bodies investigate and reach a decision, the allegations made by the Ukrainian federation remain claims rather than established findings.
The case also illustrates how Russia’s participation in international sport remains politically and legally contested more than four years after the invasion of Ukraine. For the FIA, any decision on the Ukrainian complaint could have implications beyond individual competitors, potentially affecting the relationship between national motorsport authorities and the organisation's rules on territorial jurisdiction.
No comments:
Post a Comment