Lithuanian Football Federation (LFF) President Edgaras Stankevičius said Thursday that if Belarus qualifies for the 2026 UEFA Futsal Championship, he will push to ensure the team does not play in Lithuania, according to a report by tv3.lt.
“It’s clear that we won’t play them and they won’t be here in Lithuania,” Stankevičius said. “My position on this will be strict.”
The 2026 tournament will be co-hosted by Lithuania and Latvia from January 18 to February 8. Belarus is among the qualified teams, alongside Portugal, Armenia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovenia, Ukraine, and Croatia.
Stankevičius said a joint position on Belarus’ participation is expected soon from Lithuania, Latvia, and Ukraine. If UEFA still allows Belarus to compete, LFF will take additional measures on its own, he added.
Latvia already has a legal ban in place that prohibits its national teams from playing against Russian or Belarusian teams, whether under their national flags or as neutral competitors. The law also bars Latvia from hosting events involving Russian or Belarusian national teams, a policy tied to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Belarus’ support of the Kremlin.
Although Lithuania has no legal prohibition in place, it has adopted a policy of refusing to play against Belarus in response to Minsk’s backing of Moscow.
“In our case, there is only a strong recommendation not to play [against them],” Stankevičius said. “What we need is a legal document preventing representatives of that country from entering Lithuania, even if they have visas – and they will, as they obtain them in other countries.”
Meanwhile, Latvian Football Federation President Vadims Ļašenko told the news agency LETA that Latvia has not yet finalised an action plan regarding Belarus’ participation. He emphasised that the LFF is in active discussions with UEFA, Lithuanian football officials, Ukraine’s ambassador to Latvia, and Andriy Shevchenko, president of the Ukrainian Football Association.
“We hope to have a clear understanding by the end of this week or early next week,” Ļašenko said. “Right now, there are many unknowns. We know we cannot legally or ethically host an event in Latvia with Belarus’ participation. We will inform the public as soon as UEFA clarifies its position.”
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