Russia are due to take part in a head-to-head match with Poland next month to decide which team will take one of the final European qualifying spots for this year’s soccer World Cup.
On Saturday, the Polish soccer federation announced that it would not play the game.
Under normal rules, that would mean they are thrown out of the competition and Russia would advance to play at the World Cup. However, given Russia’s attack on Ukraine FIFA now has a big decision to make.
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Sweden, a potential future opponent of Russia in the playoffs, later said they would also refuse to play Russia “regardless of where the match is played.”
Russia were due to host Poland in the qualifying playoff semi-finals on 24 March, with the winners moving on to play either Sweden or Czech Republic for a place at the World Cup in Qatar later this year.
Kristoffer Olsson of Sweden and Pablo Martin Paez Gavira “Gavi” of Spain in action during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Qualifier match.
Photo By Joaquin Corchero/Getty ImagesCzech Republic joined Sweden and Poland on Friday in saying they would also not play on Russian soil.
“The military escalation that we are observing entails serious consequences and considerably lower safety for our national football teams and official delegations," the soccer federations of Poland, Czech Republic and Sweden said in a statement.
The Polish captain Robert Lewandowski, arguably the world’s best striker, backed the move even though it could cost his team a place at the game’s pinnacle. “The right decision!” Lewandowski wrote on Twitter. “I cannot imagine playing a match with the Russian national team in a situation when armed aggression in Ukraine continues.”
Putin showed how much value he places in the World Cup by staging a corrupt campaign to secure the rights to host the tournament in 2018.
Other soccer players around Europe have shown their solidarity for Ukraine this week, and during a U.K. Premier League match on Saturday night, both teams came out sporting the Ukrainian flag. Everton had flags draped over their shoulders, while Manchester City had specially made jerseys with the flag printed on their chests and the words “No War.”
Both teams from North-West England have a Ukrainian international player in their team and the two men—Oleksandr Zinchenko and Vitaliy Mykolenko—shared an emotional embrace before kick-off.
The soccer fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine also hit London on Saturday as Roman Abramovich—a close ally of Putin—said he was stepping back from running Chelsea Football Club. The reigning European champions were transformed into a modern super club from the brink of bankruptcy on the back of the roubles Abramovich raked in during the early years of the notorious oligarch era in Russia.
Abramovich, who was also governor of Chukotka in Russia’s Far East, will retain ownership of the club but says he will hand over the running or the organization to a board of trustees. The British government has come under pressure to sanction Abramovich as one of the most high-profile acolytes of Putin with significant investments in London.
“I have always taken decisions with the club’s best interest at heart,” Abramovich said in a shock statement on Saturday night. “I remain committed to these values. That is why I am today giving trustees of Chelsea’s charitable Foundation the stewardship and care of Chelsea FC. I believe that currently they are in the best position to look after the interests of the club, players, staff, and fans.”
While Abramovich appears to hope this move will ease sanctions heat on himself and his club, it is not clear that this new management arrangement would make any meaningful difference to the impact of sanctions.
Read it at The BBC
