In a bizarre slip-up, during Thursday's UEFA Congress in Belgrade a late Russian footballer Aleksei Bugaev was inexplicably honoured - despite the fact that first he was imprisoned over drug-smuggling, and then became one of Putin's convict-soldiers unlawfully invading Ukraine.
The awkward situation was brought to light on social media by, among others, a Polish X user BuckarooBanzai, known for his tweets on Ukrainian football.
Bugaev, born 1981, was a former Russian international, who played 7 games for the national team, including 2 at the 2004 European Championships. He finished his career prematurely in 2010, at the age of 29 - as media reported, due to drug-related issues.
In the fall of 2024, Bugaev was sentenced to 9,5 years in a high-security Russian penal colony after being caught smuggling significant amounts of drugs. According to media reports, he faced even 20 years - but decided to cooperate with the police. Afterwards - he chose to participate in Putin's illegal invasion of Ukraine instead of prison - and he died on December 30, 2024, shortly after arriving at the frontlines.
The list of recently deceased figures from the world of football singled out by UEFA to be commemorated with a minute of silence by top European officials during Thursday's meeting also included Zaur Kaziyev - another Russian former footballer who died participating in Putin's unlawful invasion of Ukraine.
UEFA did not comment on the situation yet.
During the minute of silence, deceased Ukrainian football figures were also honoured - Mykhailo Fomenko, Anatoliy Konkov, Volodymyr Lazarenko, and Andriy Shchepotiev.
The text accompanying the list of deceased Ukrainians stated: "UEFA and its member associations express their sincere condolences to the UAF and all those in Ukraine who have lost loved ones”.
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Source: x.com/BuckarooBanzai, Weszlo.com, Babel.ua