The governments of 35 European countries have asked the president of the European Football Federation (UEFA), Alexander Ceferin, to expel Russian and Belarusian officials from the bodies of the "European house of football", reports "Daily Mail".

A thorn in the side of European politicians is Alexander Djukov, a Russian businessman who is chairman of Gazprom's board of directors, chairman of Zenit and president of the Russian football federation.

In addition to Djukov, former officers of the Soviet secret service KGB, Oleg Deripaska and Sergey Priadkin, also hold positions in the bodies of UEFA.

In addition to the UK government, the governments of France and Germany are also the most vocal in demanding that the Russians and Belarusians be kicked out of UEFA. Russia and Belarus have 22 representatives in UEFA bodies.
UEFA has already suspended Russian and Belarusian teams from participating in competitions under its umbrella.