FIFA president Gianni Infantino has suggested lifting the ban on Russia from participating in global competitions.

The Kremlin welcomed comments by FIFA chief Gianni Infantino about ending Russia’s ban on international football matches over the war in Ukraine, while Kyiv condemned his comments as “irresponsible”.

Infantino, who has previously had a friendly relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, said in an interview on Monday that the ban on Russia “achieved nothing.”

His comments sparked outrage in Ukraine, which said the ban should remain in place “as long as Russians continue to kill Ukrainians.”

Russia has been largely banned from international sporting events since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

“We have seen these remarks by Infantino and we welcome them. It is time to consider this issue,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

“Our football players, our national teams, must have their rights fully restored… We hope that sooner or later FIFA will have such a discussion,” he added.

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) executive committee, which has the power to restore Russia’s status, will hold its next quarterly meeting on February 11 in Brussels, Belgium. UEFA president Alexander Ceferin insists that an end to the war in Ukraine is needed to achieve this goal.

In 2023, the European governing body briefly planned to allow Russia to participate in the under-17 continental championship qualifiers, citing a desire not to punish children for government actions. After more than a dozen national federations threatened to boycott the match against Russia, UEFA relented and maintained the ban.

At the senior men’s level, Russia has been limited to friendly matches, most recently against Chile and Peru in November.

During Infantino’s first term as FIFA president, Russia hosted the 2018 World Cup and reached the quarter-finals.

Infantino told Britain’s Sky News the ban should be lifted, saying it would “only create more frustration and hatred”.

He said he believed “enabling girls and boys from Russia to play football in other parts of Europe would be helpful”.

Ukraine reacted angrily.

Russia’s offensive in Ukraine has killed thousands, displaced millions and devastated much of southern and eastern Ukraine.

Ukrainian Sports Minister Matvey Bidny called Infantino’s comments “irresponsible” and “childish.”

“Let me remind you that Russia killed more than 650 Ukrainian athletes and coaches during its full-scale aggression,” he said on social media on Monday.

“679 Ukrainian boys and girls will never be able to play football – Russia killed them,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said.

He added: “Despite Russia’s failure to end the war, moral turpitude suggested lifting the ban, resulting in more deaths.”

Russian athletes in some other sports have recently been allowed to compete again under neutral flags.