The International Football Association made a decision that would allow Russia to virtually enter the World Cup without qualifying games. Fifa’s decision has a back door that it is forced to use, writes Sports Sports reporter Jussi Vainikka.
Fifa, the international football federation, broke its silence on Sunday night over the Russian attack. Fifa banned the Russians from playing in their home country. Russia will have to play its national match under the name “Russian Football Association team”. The Russian flag and national anthem will be banned from matches.
It is essential that the Russians are still given the opportunity to play in the men’s World Cup qualifiers in March. The situation is absurd, as Russia’s first opponent, Poland, and potential opponents, Sweden and the Czech Republic, have previously refused to play against the Russians.
Poland, Sweden and the Czech Republic overturned Fifa’s decision on Sunday night.
With its decision, Fifa will try to court these countries to play further qualifiers as planned. In the current situation, it is certain that Poland, Sweden and the Czech Republic will not backfire and no matches will be played. So is Fifa going to give the Russians a free ticket to the Winter World Cup in Qatar?
Chairman of Fifa Gianni Infantino known for his close relationship with the President of Russia Vladimir Putin with. However, Infantino hardly believes that the restrictions now announced will affect national football associations. Therefore, Fifa’s press release states that the exclusion of Russia from all competitions has not been ruled out.
Fifa has no other choice, as there would not be many newcomers to the World Cup. With Fifa’s decision, other football associations are likely to join the boycott at an ever-increasing rate.
The English Football Association, for example, outlined late Sunday night that it did not intend to play any level of matches against Russia. It would be time to act in the Finnish Football Association as well.
On the other hand, when it comes to Fifa, nothing comes as a surprise. Playing the World Cup in stadiums commissioned by human rights in Qatar is a thing in itself that should never have been allowed. By the way, Qatar was awarded the tournament at the same time as the previous World Cup host – Russia.
The European Football Association (UEFA) has reacted more sharply to Russia’s hostilities. The Champions League final was moved from St. Petersburg to Paris, and the association is currently trying to terminate a moneyed sponsorship deal with Russian gas giant Gazprom. Uefa has not closed Russian club teams from its competitions.
One of the big questions is what Uefa is doing about the European Championships in England this summer. Russia is set to play in the same block as Sweden, the Netherlands and Switzerland.