FIFA has told the Russian national football team that it would not be able to play any matches on home grounds. They must play the rest of the World Cup games on neutral ground, under the name of the Football Union of Russia, and without the national flag or anthem.
This is the outcome of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, which has already had a disastrous sports impact on the country. The Russian Grand Prix has been canceled, and UEFA has canceled the Champions League final in St Petersburg.
The United Kingdom, Wales, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Sweden have all declined to play Russia. Russia will face Poland in the Qatar World Cup play-offs in March, and if they win, they will face either the Czech Republic or Sweden.
The decision by FIFA was deemed “totally unacceptable” by Cezary Kulesza, president of the Polish Football Association, while delegates from the Czech and Swedish Football Associations underlined that they would not play against Russia.
“We are not interested in participating in this game of appearances. Our stance remains intact: Polish National Team will not play with Russia, no matter what the name of the team is”, said Kulesza.
Speaking with Fotbollskanalen, Karl-Erik Nilsson, the president of the Swedish FA commented, “Our opinion is not different today, and the situation has not changed in Ukraine just because we have received the message from FIFA, so we have no other opinion today”.
“We also want to talk to Poland and the Czech Republic, so that we can give back to FIFA what we think, but we had expected a sharper stance from FIFA. We would have done so”, he added.
A statement from FIFA this Sunday, February 27, read, “FIFA would like to reiterate its condemnation of the use of force by Russia in its invasion of Ukraine. Violence is never a solution and FIFA expresses its deepest solidarity to all people affected by what is happening in Ukraine”.