TASS: Sport – UEFA President Ceferin praises Mutko’s contribution into Russian football’s development

MOSCOW, December 21. /TASS/. Russian Deputy Prime Minister made an important contribution into the development of football in Russia, Aleksander Ceferin, the president of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), told TASS on Friday.

Mutko announced about his resignation from the post of the Russian Football Union’s (RFU) president on Wednesday during the RFU Executive Committee’s session. Sergei Pryadkin, the president of the Russian Premier League, was appointed the acting RFU president until the Union’s presidential election on February 22.

“Vitaly Mutko has made an important contribution to Russian football,” the UEFA president said.

“During his presidency of the Russian Football Union, Russian clubs enjoyed a very successful period in UEFA competitions, with PFC CSKA Moskva and FC Zenit both winning the UEFA Cup in 2005 and 2008 respectively, and FC Zenith even winning the 2008 UEFA Super Cup, a first in Russian football history,” he stated.

“Vitaly Mutko also played an important role in ensuring Russia won the right to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup – a competition they held with the upmost distinction and success both on and off the pitch,” Ceferin added.

Mutko took charge of the RFU in September 2015 after the resignation of the previous president, Nikolai Tolstykh.

Mutko, who also held the post of the Russian sports minister in 2012-2016, used to be in charge of the RFU between April 2005 and November 2009. He stepped down from the post of the organization’s president, following a government resolution, which required that state officials should quit top positions in sports federations.

In July 2015, an exception was made for Mutko to combine the posts of the sports minister and the RFU’s head, which allowed him to take part in the RFU presidential elections, which eventually saw him elected again as the head of the organization.

In December 2017, Mutko announced a decision to temporarily step down from the post of the president of the RFU. Alexander Alayev, the RFU Director General, was appointed the acting president of Russia’s governing football body.