The Finnish girls’ national team will have a match against Russia in the program in April. The Football Association will discuss its attitude towards the Russian national teams at Monday night’s meeting.
Russia is participating in the men’s soccer World Cup qualifiers, where it should face Poland in late March. The football associations of Poland, Sweden and the Czech Republic have stated that they will not agree to play against Russia. The winner of the Russia-Poland match would face Sweden or the Czech Republic in the qualifiers.
England and Wales have also joined the European Football Association.
Chairman of the Football Association Ari Lahti was disappointed with Fifa’s decision not to exclude Russia from international football fields.
– It can’t go that way for Russia to get that free seat. We are on the same front as Sweden and we support their decision. It seems wonderful that Fifa solves this in a way that puts Russia in a certain privileged position.
– The European football community will support the exclusion of Russia from the World Cup or these qualifiers in one way or another. This is what it looks like now.
Will the Finnish girls’ national team play against Russia in April?
Lahti says he has been in personal contact with the Slovenian chairman of the European Football Association, Uefa To Alexander Ceferin and said that Finland was in favor of as harsh sanctions on Russia as possible. For example, the Football Association has not publicly stated that it will refuse to play against Russian teams, but it may soon be time for such an exit.
The national team of the girls under the age of 19 should face both the Russian and Belarusian teams in the European Championship qualifiers in Germany in early April.
– We are going to have a board meeting on Monday night. This possible statement is one that will go to the government for decision. I want the decision to be one that is approved by our entire government, Lahti says.
Like Finland, Russia has also paved the way for the women’s European Championships final, which will be played in England in July. Lahti states that he does not consider Russia likely to appear in the tournament.
– There is no direct decision on how to play Russia in the Games, but I do not see a difference between men and women. I find it very difficult for Russia to take part in the tournament. Of course, there is still time here, and we do not fully know how the situation will develop and whether the sanctions will start to work.
– Ultimately, the question is that, in the same way that economic sanctions are imposed, sport is also subject to sanctions in such a war of aggression. Personally, I am in favor of tough sanctions.
“Smiling doesn’t help now”
The World Cup qualifiers should be played in a month, so Fifa’s next moves should happen pretty quickly. Lahti believes that the pressure from the European unions on the umbrella organizations of the species will influence the decisions.
– The more united the front in Europe, of course, the more it will influence Uefa’s decision-making. It should be remembered that Uefa is a community of member unions in 55 countries. If a clear majority of it takes a tougher line, Uefa cannot fail to react.
Lahti states that Fifa’s situation is reminiscent of last year’s Olympic decisions against Russia, with the difference that the situation is now exceptionally serious.
– There is talk of a severe war of aggression and serious actions against humanity and European democracy. European unions cannot be silent, and a smile will not help now. You should take a little tougher steps.