After the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis, Russia was subjected to sanctions from Europe and the United States in all aspects, and the football field was not spared. On February 28, Beijing time, FIFA announced a number of penalties for Russia, including deprivation of home qualification, and may even cancel its qualifications in the future.
Russia is still eligible to participate
FIFA published a statement on the homepage of its official website on the 28th, declaring:
First of all, Russia will not hold any more international matches, and the home games of Russian teams will all be changed to neutral and played in an empty field;
Secondly, when the member associations of Russia participate in any competition, they cannot participate in the name of "Russia", but only in the name of the "Russian Football Federation";
Third, teams of the Russian Football Federation will not be allowed to use the Russian flag and national anthem when participating in the competition.
FIFA also said in a statement: "FIFA will continue to engage in dialogue with the International Olympic Committee, UEFA and other sports organisations to determine whether additional measures or sanctions will be adopted in the future, and disqualification of Russian teams is one of the potential penalties." If the status quo does not change rapidly, these measures may be implemented in the near future. ”
It is uncertain whether he will be able to play in the World Preliminary Round
FIFA convened an emergency committee in accordance with its statutes, whose members included the president of FIFA and the president of the continental football federation, and finally negotiated such a set of penalties. But in reality, the key issues have not been solved.
The most direct impact of the Ukraine crisis on the football world is that the multinational football federation has refused to play with the Russian national team, especially Sweden, the Czech Republic and Poland, the three countries that will meet russia in the European play-offs of the World Cup qualifiers. Although FIFA's statement is punishing Russia, it is essentially looking for a compromise and balance: it did not directly disqualify Russia according to the more popular public opinion in Europe and the United States, but only gave a euphemistic compromise in exchange for the understanding of various countries.
However, FIFA still leaves the possibility of disqualification from Russia, which creates uncertainty about the future. If the three countries refuse to fight, will FIFA announce that the three countries abstain in accordance with the conventional regulations, or will Russia be disqualified? Judging from the current statement, it is possible.
Text/Old Five
Photo/ Weibo, Xinhua News Agency