Infantino was awarded the Russian Order of Friendship medal by president Vladimir Putin after Russia hosted the 2018 World Cup. Russia has not completely stopped playing international football as they have played matches against non-Western nations without needing the permission of Fifa or Uefa. Shakhtar, 15-time Ukrainian champions, have not played home matches in Donetsk since 2014 due to the war in eastern Donbas. Last year, Ukraine criticised the International Paralympic Committee's (IPC) decision to lift a ban on athletes from Russia and its close ally Belarus. Despite the IPC lifting its ban, Russian and Belarusian Para-athletes will not be at next month's Winter Paralympics.