Soccer
Infantino calls for peace in Ukraine but does not confirm decision on WC Qualifiers
The president of FIFA condemned the use of force by Russia and said that “violence is never a solution” and that soccer is not a priority right now.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino condemned the violence happening in Ukraine right now by Russian forces. “FIFA expresses hope for a rapid cessation of hostilities and for peace in Ukraine.”
No decision on World Cup Qualifiers in Russia
Questions about whether FIFA will allow Russia to host the World Cup Qualifiers in March have yet to be answered. Though the organization states they are strongly against what Russia is doing, they have not made a decision on whether or not to strip them of the tournament. Infantino said they would see how the situation progresses, but some teams will not be satisfied with that.
Poland, Sweden, and Czech Football Associations are opposed to playing in Russia and are letting FIFA know it. Russia and Poland are set to meet on March 24 in Moscow and the winner would face the winner of the Sweden vs Czech Republic game.
In a joint statement, the teams said, “the military escalation that we are observing entails serious consequences and considerably lower safety for our national football teams and official delegations."
St. Petersburg, Russia has already lost the right to host the Champions League final this year and the Ukrainian Football Association has called on FIFA and UEFA to ban Russian teams and the national team from playing in any of the international competitions.