Ukraine Files FIA Ethics Complaint Over End of Russia Motorsport Ban

Ukraine's national motorsport authority has filed a formal complaint with the ethics committee of the FIA after the governing body lifted restrictions on Russian and Belarusian competitors. BBC Sport reported that the Ukrainian Automobile Federation, known as the FAU, is seeking an urgent investigation into the Russian Automobile Federation, or RAF.

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The restriction on individuals from Russia and Belarus entering international motorsport events had been in place since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The FIA World Council approved its removal. Sources told BBC Sport that FIA president Mohammed ben Sulayem proposed the change to the council.

The FAU's complaint centers on its claim that the RAF has opened and continues to operate offices in Ukrainian regions occupied by Russia. It identified Crimea, Sevastopol, and the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions. The United Nations recognizes those areas as sovereign Ukrainian territory, according to the BBC report.

Ukraine's federation argues that those offices breach the FIA statutes and its international sporting code. The rules cited by the FAU permit one recognized automobile club in each country. FAU president Oleksandr Feldman described the alleged conduct as a clear statutory breach and called on the FIA president to act urgently.

The FAU wants the ethics committee to find the Russian federation in breach of FIA rules, order the disputed offices closed immediately and impose sanctions. Its statement also highlighted that RAF head Boris Rotenberg is subject to sanctions from the United States, United Kingdom, European Union and other allied jurisdictions in response to Russia's aggression against Ukraine.

BBC Sport reported that the decision to restore access for Russian and Belarusian competitors followed a comparable move in the Olympic movement. The complaint now puts the implementation of that change under formal scrutiny inside motorsport's global regulator. The FIA had been approached for comment but had not responded when the BBC article was published.