Ukraine asks FIA to address alleged sporting violations by Russian Automotive Federation

Ukraine’s National Sporting Authority (ASN), the Federation Automobile d’Ukraine (FAU), has asked the FIA Senate and FIA World Motor Sport Council to address what it claims are violations of the FIA Statutes and International Sporting Code by the Russian Automobile Federation (RAF).

According to the FAU, its Russian counterpart has opened offices in territory that remains internationally recognized as belonging to Ukraine, which it claims is a violation of Article 3.3 of the FIA Statutes and Article 1.4.1 of the FIA International Sporting Code. These assert that only one ASN, whose authority extends over the entire territory, may be recognized by the FIA in each country.

In operating offices within the Ukraine, the FAU says, the RAF is illegally claiming to exercise sporting authority in territory that is already under the FAU’s remit.

In a statement, the FAU has requested that the RAF’s FIA membership be suspended until “the RAF closes its representative offices in the territory of Ukraine, completely ceases any activity there, and provides the FIA with written guarantees to that effect, and until this is independently confirmed.”

“We are surprised by the position of the authorized bodies of the FIA, which are trying to hush up this situation,” said FAU President Oleksandr Feldman. “For example, our appeal of 26 August to the FIA Ethics Committee, requesting urgent consideration of the violator’s actions, not only provoked no reaction but was left entirely unanswered. It is precisely because of the inaction of the FIA bodies that we propose to bring this issue before the General Assembly.”

The FAU’s move comes just a few weeks after the FIA lifted a ban on Russian and Belarusian drivers competing in international motorsports, which had been in effect since Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022. Ukraine appealed that decision, which according to the BBC, was made at the behest of FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

The FIA responded to a request for comment from RACER with an identically worded statement to one that appeared elsewhere at the time the driver ban was lifted:

"The FIA has updated the requirements for Russian and Belarusian drivers, national teams, competitors and officials following a vote by the World Motor Sport Council. This follows an announcement by the IOC on 7th July and similar guidance updates issued by other international sporting federations. The FIA maintains its ban on organizing events and competitions in Russia and Belarus.

“The FIA continues to monitor the situation closely in Ukraine and reserves the right to update its position in the future.”

The RAF has not issued a formal response to Ukraine’s latest claims, but following the lifting of restrictions on Russian and Belarusian drivers in August, RAF president Boris Rotenberg – who is on the U.S. and UK sanctions lists – addressed the work his organization had done behind the scenes to reopen the door to Russian involvement in international motorsports.

“Behind this decision is a huge diplomatic work of the RAF,” he said. “We have always maintained a professional dialogue with our FIA colleagues, firmly defending the interests of our country.

“Sport and culture should be out of politics – they unite peoples. Justice has triumphed. We are grateful to the International Automobile Federation for the constructive dialogue and are ready to jointly address all pressing issues.”