The Ukrainian Automobile Federation has filed a formal complaint with the ethics committee of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), international motorsport’s governing body, following the decision to lift restrictions imposed on Russian and Belarusian competitors taking part in international events.
The measures had been introduced in February 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has been supported by Belarus. The latest move was approved by the FIA World Motor Sport Council and, according to reports, was proposed by FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem. The decision follows a similar initiative by the International Olympic Committee.
Ukraine asks FIA to investigate Russian Automobile Federation
The Ukrainian Automobile Federation’s complaint calls for an urgent investigation into the Russian Automobile Federation. It alleges that the Russian organisation has opened and continues to operate offices in Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia, including Crimea, the city of Sevastopol and the regions of Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia.
Those territories are recognised by the United Nations as forming part of Ukraine’s sovereign territory. The Ukrainian federation argues that the alleged actions breach both the FIA Statutes and the International Sporting Code, which provide for a single recognised automobile club in each country.
The dispute comes as the FIA continues to play a central role in governing international motorsport, including the 2026 Formula 1 calendar and the sporting framework under which championships and competitors operate worldwide.
Oleksandr Feldman calls for FIA action
Oleksandr Feldman, president of the Ukrainian Automobile Federation, said: “This is a clear violation of the FIA Statutes by the Russian Automobile Federation, which, as an FIA member organisation, is required to comply with them. We urge the FIA president to intervene urgently to ensure that these offices are closed and that the Russian Automobile Federation is sanctioned for its actions.”
The Ukrainian federation is asking the FIA ethics committee to determine that its Russian counterpart has breached the governing body’s statutes and to order the immediate closure of the offices in question.
The same statement also stresses that Boris Rotenberg, the head of the Russian Automobile Federation, is directly subject to international sanctions imposed by the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and other allied jurisdictions in response to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
FIA ethics committee also comes under scrutiny
Following amendments to the FIA Statutes introduced last year, the ethics committee is under the authority of Mohammed Ben Sulayem and his ally Carmelo Sanz de Barros, president of the FIA Senate.
The BBC contacted the FIA’s headquarters at Place de la Concorde in Paris regarding the complaint, but the federation did not provide a response.
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