MOSCOW — Soccer officials in Crimea have said European soccer’s governing body, UEFA, has approved the creation of a new league on the disputed peninsula, dragging the body’s awkward position over the Ukraine crisis into view again and aggravating yet another political headache for international soccer authorities.
Georgii A. Ilyakov, a representative of Crimea’s soccer association, told a Crimean newspaper on Thursday that the association would establish an eight-team league under UEFA and that it was likely to begin play in August.
UEFA officials said the announcement was premature but broadly correct. Frantisek Laurinec, an official leading UEFA’s commission on Crimea, said no final approval had been given but that in principle the organization supported the Crimeans’ plan.