Photojournalist Elena Covalenco, declared “undesirable” by the unrecognized administration in Tiraspol on September 21, has issued an appeal to UEFA to raise concerns about the organization of UEFA matches in the Transnistrian region of Moldova and the restrictions and risks faced by journalists, according to a press release issued by the Promo-LEX Association.

The match between Sheriff and Swiss club Servette will take place in Tiraspol on Thursday evening, 26 October.

“The restriction is an unjustified violation of international rules protecting freedom of expression and freedom of the media. The de facto administration in this territory of the Republic of Moldova prevents journalists from disseminating information of public interest and deliberately obstructs their work,” the public appeal states.

Under these circumstances, the decision to hold UEFA Europa League matches in the temporarily occupied territory of Moldova, where Russian troops are illegally stationed, is “alarming” on the grounds that the security guarantees offered by the illegal administration or the Sheriff conglomerate are not “credible, legal and legitimate” and that the “oppressive system” of the Tiraspol regime “flagrantly violates human rights, while enjoying impunity, both nationally and internationally”.

“UEFA should prevent the exploitation of its decisions by illegitimate and autocratic regimes to continue mass human rights violations and gain international or local legitimacy. Because of the region’s unresolved status, security concerns as well as the alarming human rights situation in the Transnistrian region, UEFA should engage in talks only with the legitimate and constitutional authorities of the country.

For example, according to UEFA’s decision, Belarus must play its home matches on neutral ground. This firm stance should be consistently applied in other similar cases, because otherwise UEFA’s rules and commitments are flawed or selective.

Therefore, FC Sheriff, as a football club owned by a business conglomerate that has both directly and indirectly supported the consolidation of an illegal and authoritarian regime, which in turn ignores and seriously violates fundamental human rights and freedoms, should play its home matches on territory controlled by the central government. The Tiraspol regime must be given a very clear message and a list of conditions it should respect in order to make it possible to hold international matches on sports grounds on the left bank of the Dniester,” the source notes.

Promo-LEX also notes that UEFA can take action to address these concerns, such as adopting sanctions against the Sheriff football club, human rights audits, strengthening partnerships with human rights organisations, protecting whistleblowers, setting up a mechanism for receiving and resolving complaints, etc.

“We believe that UEFA, as an organisation that recognises the fundamental principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, must act firmly and appropriately to contribute to the promotion of peace and respect for the values and principles for which it stands.

Building on the Human Rights Commitment adopted in 2021 and its Statutes, the UEFA Executive Committee should reassess the decision to allow matches to be held in temporarily occupied regions and consider measures to ensure respect for human rights and the integrity of the media, as well as the safety of all participants in sporting events,” the appeal added.

While Tiraspol is under a “yellow terrorist alert code” and children in Latin-script schools are not allowed free movement to educational institutions, international football matches are taking place at the Tiraspol stadium. On Thursday 21 September, Moldovan football champions Sheriff Tiraspol played against AS Roma. At the time, photojournalist Elena Covalenco, who was trying to get to the match, reported that she had been told by separatist forces in Tiraspol that she was banned from entering the Transnistrian region for three years.