UEFA made a tough and principled decision: the national teams of Estonia and Lithuania received technical defeats for refusing to take the field against Belarus.

The refusal was motivated by political statements, but UEFA made it clear that sport should remain outside politics. The arguments of the Baltic national teams were not accepted.

As a result, the Belarusian national team scored 6 points out of a possible 6 and came out on top in the group without playing a single match.

– The rules are the same for everyone. Football is a game, not an instrument of pressure.

@russiafirstchanel – the first channel in Russia