KEIR RADNEDGE REPORTING —– FIFA’s continued dithering over Russia’s World Cup status is becoming embarrassing for international football.

Even the International Olympic Committee, famously careful to sit on the political fence, has urged all sports federations to scrap international competition dates in both Russia and neighbouring Belarus after the invasion of Ukraine ordered by President Vladimir Putin.

European federation UEFA was quick to switch the Champions League Final on May 28 from St Petersburg to the Stade de France in St-Denis. It also ordered that Russian and Ukrainian clubs and national teams must now play home UEFA competition matches at neutral venues.

This is the third successive season in which the final venue has been changed. The Covid-19 pandemic was to blame for the 2020 final moving from Istanbul to Lisbon and for the 2021 final being altered from St Petersburg to Porto.

UEFA is also understood to be exploring how to scrap its £30m sponsorship deal with Gazprom, the Russian energy giant.

FIFA, however, is equivocating over much more immediate dates – next month’s World Cup playoffs involving Russia.

March dates

The Russian national team are scheduled to host Poland on March 24 and then, if they win, host Sweden or the Czechs on March 29 with a place in the finals in Qatar at stake. Ukraine are also due to play in Scotland on March 24.

The Poland, Sweden and Czech Republic federations demanded jointly in midweek that FIFA bar Russia from hosting the playoffs.

Now the Polish federation has said it will boycott their World Cup play-off against Russia because of the invasion of Ukraine. PZPN president Cezary Kulesza has said the team “do not intend” to play the game. He added: “No more words. Time to act.”

Captain Robert Lewandowski, FIFA’s own choice as the world’s top player in each of the last year, has described this, in a Twitter post, as “the right decision.”

Sweden, too

Sweden’s FA has also said its national team will not play against Russia regardless of where the match is played because of the “illegal and deeply unjust invasion of Ukraine”.

On Thursday FIFA president Gianni Infantino said the governing body “hopes for a rapid cessation of hostilities and for peace in Ukraine.”

He added: “FIFA call on all parties to restore peace through constructive dialogue.

“FIFA, as the world governing body, has a duty to look into the footballing consequences . . . so we continue to monitor the situation and communicate an update  regarding the upcoming World Cup qualifiers soon.”

The mechanics are simple. The FIFA bureau – Infantino plus the presidents of the six regional confederations – can be summoned to an online emergency meeting at high speed.

Of course this depends on whether the will is there.

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