(KYIV) – The Ukrainian Association of Football has formally appealed to the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body over an incident involving Armenian national team player Denis Nevedrov following a match at the 2026 European Futsal Championship.
The appeal relates to the group stage match between Armenia and Ukraine, after which Nevedrov made offensive remarks directed at Ukraine that were captured during the live broadcast. The comments were made immediately after the final whistle and were widely shared on social media.
In its submission to UEFA, the Ukrainian Association of Football said the statements constituted unsporting conduct and breached UEFA Disciplinary Regulations. The organisation requested that the governing body investigate the incident and consider disciplinary measures against the player and the Armenian team.
The association noted that Nevedrov is a naturalised Russian who holds citizenship of the Russian Federation, according to publicly available player records from his club, MFK Tyumen. It said this background was relevant in the context of Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Association of Football stated that the conflict launched by the Russian Federation has involved widespread violence against Ukrainian citizens and repeated expressions of hostility towards Ukraine at both state and individual levels. It said the remarks made during the match reflected this broader pattern of contempt.
According to the association, public insults based on national identity amount to hate speech and represent a serious form of discrimination. It added that such behaviour goes beyond routine breaches of sporting conduct.
The organisation said the case should be treated as more serious than a typical disciplinary matter, given the scale of the tournament’s audience and the values promoted by European football. It argued that hate speech and humiliation based on nationality were incompatible with human rights principles and the standards of the sport.
The Ukrainian Association of Football asked UEFA to apply appropriate sanctions in line with its regulations for conduct following the Euro 2026 group stage match between Armenia and Ukraine.
Ukraine lost the match 2 to 1. After the game, Nevedrov also shared an image on Instagram that included an offensive symbol placed over the Ukrainian flag. His social media account was later set to private.
Nevedrov was born in Russia and obtained Armenian citizenship in 2021. He has previously represented Russia at under 21 level and currently plays club futsal for Tyumen.
