Ombudsman calls on Shevchenko to intervene in conflict over distribution of money for Ukraine's Euro 2024 qualification

The Ukrainian Football Association continues to face a conflict between Vice President Oleksandr Shevchenko and Chief Financial Officer Yevheniya Sahaidak.

As a reminder, Shevchenko, who heads the children's and youth football committee, was going to dispose of the money that the Ukrainian national team earned for qualifying for Euro 2024 at his own discretion. And this is 9.25 million euros. In particular, Shevchenko wanted to spend the money on futsal. However, Sahaidak did not allow him to do so, and for this she received a portion of verbal abuse and threats. It is also known that there are witnesses to the conflict, including First Vice President Pavlo Boichuk, Secretary General Ihor Hryshchenko and the head of the Futsal Association Serhiy Vladyko.

The situation has already escalated into proceedings, which were opened by the UAF Ethics Committee and the UAF Control and Disciplinary Committee following a written appeal. And if the conflict is not resolved at the UAF level, Yevheniia Sahaidak is going to appeal to law enforcement agencies.

Mykhailo Spasov, a representative of the Commissioner for Equal Rights and Freedoms, National Minorities, Political and Religious Views, sent an official letter to UAF President Andriy Shevchenko, in which he stressed that the incident between Oleksandr Shevchenko and Yevheniya Sahaidak could be regarded as gender discrimination and gender-based violence.

"The dispute between Oleksandr Shevchenko and Yevheniia Sahaidak was accompanied by obscene and sexist statements, insults from her husband, threats of physical violence, and Yevheniia Sahaidak appealed to the Ethics and Fair Play Committee and the UAF Control and Disciplinary Committee. I would like to emphasise that gender discrimination and any manifestations of gender-based violence are prohibited," the statement reads.

In addition, the Ombudsman asks Andriy Shevchenko to respond to the conflict and urges him to take all possible measures to prevent discrimination and gender-based violence in the work of the UAF, as "gender-based violence is an act that causes physical, sexual, psychological or economic harm or suffering, including threats of such acts, in public or private life (Article 1, paragraph seven of the Law of Ukraine "On Ensuring Equal Rights and Opportunities for Women and Men")."