Russia should be expelled from the 2022 Soccer World Cup after invading Ukraine, French Football Federation president Noel Le Graet told Le Parisien newspaper on Sunday.
World champions France have called for Russia to be thrown out of 2022 world cup.
Russia should be expelled from the 2022 World Cup after
invading Ukraine, French Football Federation president Noel Le Graet told Le
Parisien newspaper on Sunday.
On the fourth day of the invasion, Ukrainians and Russians
said they were ready for talks to halt a conflict that has forced hundreds of
thousands of people to flee their homes.
France were crowned world champions in 2018 after beating
Croatia in the final in Moscow.
“The world of sport, and especially football, cannot remain
neutral. I certainly would not oppose the expulsion of Russia,” said Le Graet.
Poland, Sweden and the Czech Republic have all refused to
play Russia in the World Cup play-offs.
Poland are due to play Russia in Moscow on March 24 and
should the hosts win they would host the winners of the match between the
Czechs and the Swedes on March 29.
Le Graet concurred with the trio’s stance.
“In these dramatic circumstances, how can one envisage
playing football against this country,” he said.
FIFA have yet to take any action against Russia saying on
Thursday they were “concerned” by the “tragic” situation with president Gianni
Infantino saying the World governing body had the capacity to take action on
the play-off matches at “any moment”.
European governing body UEFA did take action on Friday,
stripping Saint Petersburg’s Gazprom Arena of the Champions League final on May
28 and awarding the showpiece match to the Stade de France in Paris.
UEFA are also believed to be debating whether to cancel
their sponsorship deal with Russian gas giant Gazprom, whose majority
shareholder is the Russian state.
Gazprom renewed the contract in May 2021 to run to 2024.The
deal to sponsor the Champions League is worth a reported 40 million euros ($45
million) a year.