Finland’s Public Broadcaster Won’t Air Match Against Belarus

The Finland women's national football team’s match against Belarus on Friday will not be broadcast by Finland's public broadcaster, Yle, according to Finnish media.

Finland is set to face Belarus in a Nations League match, but the decision has been made not to air the game. Belarus, an ally of Russia, is a sponsor of the war against Ukraine. While other matches will be shown as usual, this particular match will only be available on the Football Association's YouTube channel.

The same applies to the national men's futsal team, which has also been drawn against Belarus for qualification for the European Championship. These matches will not be broadcast by Yle either.

‘Finland had an unfortunate draw. Belarus is banned from most international sports, but [European football's governing body] UEFA has decided to allow them to participate. We had to decide whether to show the match or not. We don’t think it’s the right time for Belarus to represent their country in this war situation,’ said Palonen, head of Yle Urheilun.

He also mentioned that neither the Football Association nor the Finland women’s team (Helmarit) wanted to play against Belarus. Boycotting the matches would have resulted in point suspensions and other penalties.

It was from Belarus territory where Russia’s attempt to invade Kyiv began in 2022. Belarus continues to support Russia under the leadership of the self-proclaimed president, Alexander Lukashenko.

As The Gaze previously reported, Poland has increased the number of troops stationed along its border with Belarus to 11,000. Additionally, the Latvian government partially closed three border crossing points on the border with Belarus and Russia starting March 19.