FIFA commented on the map of Ukraine shown during the broadcast of the qualification draw for the 2026 World Cup. The comment is very short and general and does not contain any hint of an apology.
During the international broadcast of the draw, a graphic representation of Europe was shown with the following comment:
“Other factors may be taken into account, such as international relations, weather conditions, and available travel routes: this may affect the formation of groups, regardless of how the draw turns out”.
In the phrase “international relations,” the territory was highlighted where a significant part was occupied by Ukraine, but without Crimea. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reacted to this situation, with its spokesperson, Georgiy Tikhiy, demanding a public apology from FIFA. A little earlier, the Ukrainian Football Association also turned to the secretaries general of FIFA and UEFA with an official letter.
Traditionally for itself, FIFA did not respond to the diplomat’s appeal, but provided a short response to requests from British media—BBC and The Sun, which reached out to the international football organization for a comment:
“FIFA is aware of the incident that affected one of the graphic images during the draw and discussed the situation with the Federation. The segment has been removed.”
The response, as is often the case in FIFA's official statements, is generalized and vague. By “the Federation,” it is presumably referring to the Ukrainian Football Association, and it seems to indicate that it was the segment related to the schematic representation of Ukraine that was removed. However, there is no hint that FIFA admits to making a mistake or recognizes it or offers an apology to Ukraine at all...
