Ukrainian motorsport body seeks sanctions against Russia

Ukraine’s national motorsport authority has called on the president of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, to impose sanctions on its Russian counterpart over alleged violations of the governing body’s rules.

The Federation of Automobile and Motorcycling of Ukraine accused the Russian Automobile Federation of opening offices in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine, including Crimea, Sevastopol, and parts of the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.

According to the FAU in a statement on its X handle on Wednesday, the territories are recognised by the United Nations as part of sovereign Ukrainian territory.

The appeal is the latest move by the Ukrainian federation following the FIA’s decision in August to lift restrictions on Russian and Belarusian competitors in international motorsport.

The FAU said it was “outraged by the prolonged inaction of the global governing body,” claiming that previous appeals to the FIA Senate and Ethics Committee had received no response.

The federation has also lodged a case with the FIA’s International Court of Appeal.

In a letter to Ben Sulayem, FAU president Oleksander Feldman urged the FIA to take action, warning that continued inaction could undermine the governing body’s credibility.

“Such short-sighted and counterproductive inaction is unbecoming of representatives of a global governing body,” Feldman wrote.

He described the situation as “a dangerous precedent” that could encourage member organisations to disregard FIA statutes and regulations.

Feldman called for Russia’s FIA membership to be suspended, the reintroduction of “strict restrictions on Russian athletes’ participation in international competitions” and a public declaration that “the forcible redistribution of sporting authority is unacceptable.”

The FIA’s rules allow only one automobile club or national sporting authority to represent each country.

The latest Ukrainian demand follows comments by Ukraine’s Minister for Youth and Sport, Matvii Bidnyi, who criticised the FIA’s decision to lift restrictions on Russian competitors.

“The reasons why Russia was banned from international sports competition have not disappeared. Nothing changes and it has become even worse,” Bidnyi told BBC Sport.

He said Russia continued its full-scale war against Ukraine while Belarus continued