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- The winner of the Russia-Poland playoff is due to host Sweden or the Czech Republic on March 29 to decide who advances to the Nov. 21-Dec. 18 World Cup in Qatar
LONDON: FIFA drew a swift backlash from European nations for not immediately expelling Russia from World Cup qualifying on Sunday and only ordering the country to play at neutral venues under the name of its federation 鈥� the Football Union of Russia (RFU).
Protesting against FIFA鈥檚 response to Russia鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine, Poland said it would still refuse to play the country in a World Cup playoff semifinal, which is scheduled for March 24.
鈥淭oday鈥檚 FIFA decision is totally unacceptable,鈥� Polish football federation president Cezary Kulesza tweeted. 鈥淲e are not interested in participating in this game of appearances. Our stance remains intact: Polish National Team will NOT PLAY with Russia, no matter what the name of the team is.鈥�
The unanimous ruling by the FIFA Bureau, featuring the six regional football confederation presidents, was also that the Russian flag and anthem can鈥檛 be associated with the team playing as 鈥淔ootball Union of Russia (RFU).鈥�
鈥淔IFA will continue its ongoing dialogue with the IOC, UEFA and other sport organizations to determine any additional measures or sanctions,鈥� FIFA said in a statement, 鈥渋ncluding a potential exclusion from competitions, that shall be applied in the near future should the situation not be improving rapidly.鈥�
The decision adopts the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling before the invasion of Ukraine, punishing Russia鈥檚 cover-up of the investigation into state-sponsored doping. It meant the Russians had to compete at the last two Olympics as the ROC team. FIFA had stalled implementing the ban on Russia competing under the country鈥檚 name until a potential qualification the World Cup.
The winner of the Russia-Poland playoff is due to host Sweden or the Czech Republic on March 29 to decide who advances to the Nov. 21-Dec. 18 World Cup in Qatar.
Swedish federation president Karl-Erik Nilsson, the senior UEFA vice president, told the website Fotbollskanalen that he was not satisfied with the FIFA decision with a 鈥渟harper stance鈥� expected.
Before FIFA鈥檚 attempted compromise solution, the Czechs said earlier Sunday that it would not play Russia even on a neutral venue.
鈥淲e all want the war to end as soon as possible,鈥� the federation said in a statement.
FIFA said it had engaged with the three associations and would remain in 鈥渃lose contact to seek to find appropriate and acceptable solutions together.鈥�
Separately, the English Football Association announced that its national teams would refuse to play Russia for the 鈥渇oreseeable future.鈥� Russia has qualified for the Women鈥檚 European Championship which is being hosted by England in June.
The English FA said the decision was taken 鈥渙ut of solidarity with the Ukraine and to wholeheartedly condemn the atrocities being committed by the Russian leadership.鈥�
The RFU鈥檚 president is Aleksandr Dyukov, who is chief executive of a subsidiary of state-owned energy giant Gazprom and also sits on the UEFA executive committee.
In France, the football federation president No毛l Le Gra毛t told the Le Parisien daily Sunday that he was leaning toward excluding Russia from the World Cup.
鈥淭he world of sport, and in particular football, cannot remain neutral,鈥� said Le Gra毛t, who sits on the ruling FIFA Council and has recently been a close ally of the governing body鈥檚 president, Gianni Infantino.
A strict reading of FIFA鈥檚 World Cup regulations would even make the Polish, Swedish and Czech federations liable to disciplinary action and having to pay fines and compensation if they wouldn鈥檛 play Russia.
In 1992, however, FIFA and UEFA removed Yugoslavia from its competitions following United Nations sanctions imposed when war broke out in the Balkans.
The FIFA Bureau, which is chaired by Infantino, includes UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin.
UEFA on Friday pulled the 2022 Champions League final from St. Petersburg, moving it to Paris, and said Russian and Ukrainian teams in its competitions must play home games in neutral countries. UEFA allowed Spartak Moscow to continue playing in the second-tier Europa League鈥檚 round of 16.
As the attack of Ukraine entered a fourth day on Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin temporarily lost his most senior official position in world sports. The International Judo Federation cited 鈥渢he ongoing war conflict in Ukraine鈥� for suspending Putin鈥檚 honorary president status.
The Russian president is a keen judoka and attended the sport at the 2012 London Olympics.
There was an abrupt resignation on Sunday from the Russian who is president of the European Judo Union, with Sergey Soloveychik referencing the 鈥渉eartache that we see the people in brotherly countries die鈥� but backing his country.
鈥淣o one doubts that my heart belongs to judo,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut it is equally true that it belongs to my homeland, Russia. We, judoka, must always be loyal to our principles.鈥�
In Putin鈥檚 other favorite sport, ice hockey, Latvian club Dinamo Riga withdrew Sunday from the Russian-owned and run Kontinental Hockey League citing the 鈥渕ilitary and humanitarian crisis.鈥�