Ukraine without Crimea: FIFA disgraced itself by showing fake cards during the draw (screenshot)

The International Football Association Federation showed a map of Europe with Ukraine and without Crimea during the 2026 World Cup qualifying draw held today at the organization’s headquarters in Zurich (Switzerland). The map can be seen in the video explaining the highlights of the draw on the FIFA website.

During the draw, the organization wanted to remind which national teams cannot play against each other in the championship. For clarity, they showed a map of Europe, where they emphasized that Ukraine cannot meet Belarus. At the same time, Ukrainian territory was determined without the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula.

We should also point out that the Russian Federation is not allowed to participate in the championship this year.

FIFA said the UEFA qualifying group stage will start in March 2025 and end in November 2025. It will be played in the usual format with 12 groups consisting of four or five teams, and the winners of the groups will take part in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

On December 13, social networks reported that the flag of DPR militants was noticed during the match of the Spanish Real Sociedad against Dynamo Kiev at the Reale Arena stadium in San Sebastian. Young Real Sociedad fans waved the flag.

Let us also remind you that on December 11, the media named the 6 countries where the FIFA World Cups will be held in 2030 and 2034. Especially after Australia rejected the application, it was decided that Saudi Arabia would host the event in 2034.