Pressure is mounting on Fifa to take sterner action against Russia amid the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Fifa’s refusal to expel Russia from international football over the weekend was branded “totally unacceptable”, with the global governing body instead decreeing that their home games will be held at neutral grounds and the team playing as the Football Union of Russia, with no flag or national anthem.
However, that announcement was derided by the Polish Football Association, whose team are scheduled to play Russia in a World Cup qualifying play-off on March 24.
Polish FA president Cezary Kulesza said: “Today’s Fifa decision is totally unacceptable. We are not interested in participating in this game of appearances. Our stance remains intact – the Polish national team will not play Russia, no matter what the name of the team is.”
The winner of the match between Poland and Russia is scheduled to play either Sweden or the Czech Republic for a place at the World Cup in Qatar, but those two sides have also refused to face Russia.
Following Fifa’s position, Swedish FA president Karl-Erik Nilsson said: “It is clear that we are not satisfied with this.”
The English Football Association (FA) is believed to be among a number of national governing bodies pushing Fifa to take a harsher stance with regards to Russia.
The FA have already said that England will not play Russia at any level for the foreseeable future, while Fifa said it could take further action moving forward.
In a statement, Fifa said: “Fifa will continue its ongoing dialogue with the IOC, Uefa and other sports organisations to determine any additional measures or sanctions, including a potential exclusion from competitions that shall be applied in the near future should the situation not be improving rapidly. The bureau of the Fifa Council remains on standby to take any of these decisions.”
Fifa’s stance is in stark contrast to other sports. The International Judo Federation has suspended Russian president Vladimir Putin as its honorary president, while boxing’s world governing bodies say they will not sanction any bouts in Russia. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s fencing team refused to compete against Russia on Sunday.
But the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) team look set to compete at the Winter Paralympics in Beijing later this week, with some of their 71-strong contingent believed to have already arrived.
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) executive board will meet on Wednesday to discuss Russian’s invasion of Ukraine, who are expected to have a 20-member team in Beijing for the Games. As of Monday, none had arrived in China just four days ahead of the opening ceremony.
A spokesman for the IPC said: “We’re in regular dialogue with Ukraine about their participation at the Games, and we’re working hard behind the scenes to get them there.”
Ukrainian athletes have sent an open letter to both the IPC and International Olympic Committee (IOC) calling for them to “immediately suspend Russian and Belarusian National Olympic and Paralympic Committees” and insisting that “any suspension must include the banning of all athletes from international sport, including the 2022 Beijing Paralympic Games”.
They said: “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, supported by Belarus, is a clear breach of the Olympic and Paralympic Charters – a breach that must be met with strong sanctions. If the IOC and IPC refuse to take swift action, you are clearly emboldening both Russia and Belarus violation of international law and your own charters.”
There were 34 Ukrainian athletes who put their name to the open letter along with international names including Britain’s Paula Radcliffe and ex-Olympic champion Beckie Scott, the former head of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s athlete commission.
