Doha, 28 February 2022 (TDI): After Poland and Sweden, the Czech Republic and England have also refused to play with Russia in the semi-final of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. The teams made the decision in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The announcement was made on the team’s official Twitter account which read, “The Czech FA executive committee, staff members and players of the national team agreed it’s not possible to play against the Russian national team in the current situation, not even on the neutral venue. We all want the war to end as soon as possible.”
The Czech Republic is scheduled to play with Sweden on the 24th of March and the winning team was scheduled to play against Russia in the Path B semi-final, which now remains a question as both teams have refused to play with Russia.
The countries also collectively wrote a letter to FIFA about their decision to not play with Russia on Thursday.
The three teams were also joined by the England Football Association which released a statement on Sunday announcing that it would not play matches with Russia at any level for the foreseeable future.
FIFA’s decision:
The Bureau of the FIFA Council ruled that the team can play but the Russian flag and anthem can’t be associated with the team.
The official statement by FIFA said, “FIFA will continue its ongoing dialogue with the IOC, UEFA and other sport organizations 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.” FIFA also said the RFU team can only play on neutral territory and without an audience.
The decision was met with criticism from all over the world. The President of the Polish Football Association called the decision “unacceptable” and said that the team would not play with Russia, no matter what name the team goes by.
