Although Vladimir Putin’s army is destroying Ukrainian cities and killing civilians, it did not want to throw Russians out of international games. . Cezary Kulesza, however, did not want to hear about it and did not agree to FIFA’s proposal. It turned out that the pressure made sense, because more federations joined their protest. Until Infantino finally gave in and excluded Russia from the play-offs to the World Cup.
The Guardian says it will almost certainly automatically advance to the play-off finals to face the winner of the Sweden-Czech Republic match on March 29. “It was speculated whether Russia would be replaced by Hungarians or Finns, who were close to reaching the play-offs. However, no alternative plan is currently being considered,” we read.
What about Ukraine?
Ukraine will also take part in the play-offs. The problem is, even if her players want to play soccer at such a difficult time, most of them don’t train normally. Almost all representatives of our eastern neighbors play in the Ukrainian league on a daily basis. And this – for obvious reasons – is suspended. And it is doubtful for the time being that it will be resumed any time soon.
It is possible that their planned clash with the Scots will be postponed. “The president of the Scottish federation, Rod Petrie, contacted the head of the Ukrainian union to convey to him the message of support, friendship and unity in the face of the war. Football is insignificant at the moment, but the Scots convey a strong sense of solidarity. We remain in constant dialogue with UEFA and FIFA. We offered our Ukrainian friends support in the preparations “- we read in a statement from the Scottish federation.
Can the match take place on the scheduled date (03/24)? The final decision will be made later this week.
Source: Sport
Tristin is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
