Uefa awarded brutal dictator Alexander Lukashenko the hosting rights of the 2025 women’s U19 European Championship. According to Amnesty International, the government of Belarus is violating human rights on a scale not witnessed since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Authorities persecute footballers who demand democracy.
By Lars Johnsen
At the 45th Uefa Congress in Montreux, Switzerland, the Super League clubs got most of the attention. In a furious speech Uefa president Aleksander Čeferin denounced the 12 breakaway clubs. “Selfishness is replacing solidarity,” he said.
At the same congress the executive committee led by the same Čeferin awarded one of its tournaments to Belarus, ‘Europe’s last dictatorship’, a country imprisoning and torturing peaceful protesters, among them footballers.
“Harm to the national security of the Republic of Belarus”
As Belarus was getting ready for the 2020 presidential election, protests against the sitting president, Alexander Lukashenko, gained momentum. Balaclava-clad police used tear gas, pepper spray, rubber bullets and arrests to quell the protests. But the protests continued. A rally by the presidential candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya in Minsk drew up to 70 000 people.
Demonstrations increased a...
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