A general meeting of the Estonian Football Association (EJL) due to debate the issue of Russia in the footballing world was canceled Wednesday.
The meeting was scheduled for today, Wednesday January 21, at the A. Le Coq Arena in Tallinn, and would have discussed halting debate on UEFA solidarity payments to Russian clubs, and Russia’s expulsion from the organization altogether.
However, due to a lack of quorum, the meeting could not go ahead. At least two thirds of the 110 EJL delegates, or 73, would have had to have been present for a quorum, but on the day only 23 members attended.
In September last year, 13 Estonian football clubs sent the association a letter demanding that an EJL general assembly be convened on an extraordinary basis, with two more clubs subsequently joining the appeal.
This followed EJL president Aivar Pohlak having given an interview to ETV show “Pealtnägija” in which he said ejecting Russia from UEFA would be a “strange” action.
The clubs’ letter was also forwarded to Europe’s football governing body, UEFA, whose response was that while Russian clubs and national teams remain excluded from competitions, this is a specific ban which does not affect solidarity payments.
The Estonian clubs also wanted the EJL to demand Russia’s expulsion from UEFA, and for the funds which would have been used in the solidarity payments to be redirected to Ukraine.
Wednesday’s agenda contained a single item: “Submission by EJL of a statement to UEFA regarding the funding of Russian clubs and Russia’s membership of UEFA.”
The EJL issued a press release Wednesday saying: “In connection with this issue, the EJL emphasizes that since the start of the war it has supported Ukraine both in words and in deeds and has opposed Russian aggression. The EJL’s message is clear: For Estonia, for Ukraine, and against Russian aggression.”
“In recent years, the EJL has, among other things, organized fundraising campaigns to support Ukraine, exempted Ukrainian youth from licensing fees when participating in the Estonian championships, met with a delegation from the Ukrainian parliament, and helped Ukrainian teams visit Estonia. At the FIFA Congress, the EJL was one of four associations that voted against adding Russian to FIFA’s list of official languages. In 2022, the Estonian Defense Forces added the EJL to its list of employers supporting national defense, recognizing the EJL’s activities in supporting employees participating in defense forces exercises, which has continued in subsequent years. When draws have paired Estonian national teams with Belarus, Estonia has refused to play; in this respect, the Baltic states have been the only UEFA members whose clubs and national teams have not faced Belarus since the start of the war,” the association added.
Last summer, Pohlak was returned for a sixth consecutive term as EJL chief, after defeating former Liverpool F.C. and Estonian national team defender Ragnar Klavan in a ballot.
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