The Belarus team continues to play European Championship qualifiers, but UEFA has denied them hosting of the 2025 Women's Under-19 European Championship ©Getty Images

UEFA has stripped Belarus, Russia's neighbour and ally in the invasion of Ukraine, of the hosting rights to the 2025 Women's Under-19 European Championship but has stopped short of an outright ban.

The decision over the Championship was made at a meeting of the UEFA Executive Board in Lisbon.

UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin was forced to admit in answer to a question that action had been taken against Belarus, which was awarded the women's under-19s event in April, 2021 - 10 months before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

However, the complete ban handed out to Russia has not been extended to Belarus.

"We had a discussion, we have taken away the organisation of the Women's Under-19 European Championship," said Ceferin, who was re-elected unopposed this week.

"For the rest we will study the situation and we will see what we decide at the next Executive Committee meeting on June 28."

UEFA's newly re-elected President Aleksander Ceferin says the question of whether Belarus will join Russia in being banned will be discussed at the next Executive Board meeting on June 28 ©Getty Images
UEFA's newly re-elected President Aleksander Ceferin says the question of whether Belarus will join Russia in being banned will be discussed at the next Executive Board meeting on June 28 ©Getty Images

In mid-March, more than a hundred European Union lawmakers called on UEFA to ban Belarus.

So far, UEFA has declined to go that far.

However, Belarussian clubs and national teams have not been allowed to stage single international games on home soil because of support for Russia's invasion.

That policy by UEFA has now been extended significantly by stripping Belarus of the authority to host an official competition.

"We decided yesterday that we cannot do it," Ceferin added.

"We withdrew it but we don't have another venue yet."

Ceferin also confirmed that Russian clubs and national teams would remain banned as long as the war in Ukraine continues.

“My opinion is that until the war stops it would be very hard for us to change anything," he said.