UEFA and FIFA have not responded to CSKA Sofia visa denials ahead of Derry City tie

When Britain refused entry visas to two Belarusian players at CSKA Sofia, it gave an administrative advantage to their opponents before a ball was kicked. Football's governing bodies have so far said nothing about it.

What happened

According to 24 Chasa, the United Kingdom denied visas to CSKA Sofia players Fyodor Lapoukhov and Max Ebong, both Belarusian nationals, ahead of the club's Europa Conference League qualifying match against Derry City in Northern Ireland. Both players were regular starters. CSKA travelled without them and won the away leg 3-2, but the visa refusals meant the tie was played under unequal conditions.

The argument put forward in an opinion piece circulating on social media and picked up by 24 Chasa is direct: a government's administrative decision shaped the squad composition of one team in a sanctioned UEFA competition. That, the piece argues, is political interference in sport.

The absence of a response from UEFA and FIFA

UEFA and FIFA both have regulations requiring that member associations and host countries facilitate the entry of registered players for official competitions. Visa denials on political grounds have caused problems across international sport, from tennis to rugby, but football's governing bodies have rarely issued public rebukes when a NATO-aligned country is involved.

24 Chasa reports that critics are drawing a comparison to another recent controversy: the suspension of a red-card ban for a United States player during the FIFA World Cup, which many observers saw as governing bodies yielding to political and commercial pressure. Both episodes raise a question about whether UEFA and FIFA can credibly claim to protect fair competition.

The commentators quoted via 24 Chasa use strong language. The visa denial is described as an attack on sport itself and a blow to what the piece calls the largest sports investor in Bulgaria. If UEFA allows the tie to proceed without any formal acknowledgment of the unequal conditions, the argument goes, it becomes complicit in the outcome.

The reaction among Bulgarians abroad

For the Bulgarian diaspora, CSKA Sofia in European competition is a point of national pride, a rare opportunity to watch a club from home compete on the continental stage. When visa refusals reduce the squad before kick-off, the frustration extends well beyond Sofia. Many Bulgarians living in the UK have noted the contrast: a country that accepts them as residents turned away professional athletes coming to play a football match.

CSKA's win in Derry keeps the club in the tie. UEFA and FIFA have still not commented publicly on the visa denials or the conditions under which the match was played.