FIFA designated Crimea as Russian. Excuse me, Ukrainians ask

“Are you okay, FIFA? By rewriting international borders, you not only acted against international law, but also supported Russian propaganda, war crimes and the crime of (Russian) aggression against Ukraine,” Tychyj wrote in the post.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs subsequently depicted the map as it should actually be: that is, that the Crimean Peninsula is part of Ukraine. “We fixed the map for you and we expect a public apology,” the spokesperson concluded his tweet.

The Russian exile server Meduza reported that the Ukrainian Football Association also approached the football association. In a letter to FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström and Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Secretary General Theodor Theodoridis, she said the map was “absolutely unacceptable”.

According to the Ukrainian website Champion, the Football Association later commented on the incident. “FIFA is aware of the incident involving one of the graphic images during the draw. The segment has been removed,” reads the statement.

FIFA showed the map on Friday during the broadcast of the European qualification draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. In it, Ukraine will compete for the championship with Iceland, Azerbaijan and the winner of the French duel with Croatia. On the other hand, the loser will be played by the Czech national team, which will then face Montenegro, the Faroe Islands and Gibraltar.