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BRUSSELS — A group of more than 100 European Union lawmakers is urging European soccer's governing body to ban Belarus from the qualifying for the 2024 European Championship. MEPs from across the political spectrum say in a letter sent to UEFA president Alexander Ceferin that the Belarusian national team should not be able to compete because of the country's terrible human rights record. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin in his war against Ukraine. Russia used Belarusian territory to send troops into Ukraine more than a year ago at the start of the war.
