Putin suspended as honorary president – Corriere.it

While governments and international organizations consider all sorts of financial sanctions against the Russiain charge of the war initiative in Ukraine, pressures also increase against the Fifa, called to take action against Russian football. The only move of the next final of Champions League According to many, from St. Petersburg to Paris by UEFA would not be enough, in addition to other sports, the cancellation of the stages of the World Cup of winter sports in the country and the Formula 1 GP that was to be held in Sochi.

In particular the British premier Boris Johnson clamoring for Russia to be excluded from qualifying for the next World Cup, according to the British newspaper Telegraphafter Poland and Sweden, also engaged with the Czech Republic in the playoffs to win the tournament in Qatar, they clearly expressed their refusal to play against Vladimir Putin’s national team, in Russia as in any other country.

World Cup at risk for Moscow

The pressure increases for the president of the highest football federation Gianni Infantino, now that from Downing Street they have promised to coordinate the effort with the ministers of other European governments and with many national football associations, all in the same position. A clear invitation to go beyond economic interests in favor of a more important cause. The goal remains to isolate the Russia in every sphere of social life, including sport, where the interests at stake are many. There Fifa he cannot ignore the ongoing conflict, with clubs and players demonstrating against the war from all over the world. As you note the same Telegraph, if the football federations of Zimbabwe and Kenya have been suspended due to government interference, the more FIFA should act against Russia and not turn away. And in fact, following the input of the British government, the France. The French Football Association stands for the exclusion of Russia from the next World Cup as a reaction to the invasion of Ukraine, its president Noel Le Graet told Le Parisien. The world of sport, and in particular football, cannot remain neutral. I certainly will not oppose the exclusion of Russia, concluded Le Graet.

Nationals and athletes involved

The same Robert Lewandowski, Bayern Munich star, has expressed his intention not to take the field against the national team of a country that could also militarily threaten his Poland, and so did Juventus goalkeeper Szczesny, who married to a Ukrainian. The same words were also expressed by the president of his federation, Cezary Kuleszawho has already said that he had talked with colleagues from Sweden and the Czech Republic to present to FIFA the official request to oust Russia from the playoffs for Qatar 2022. No matter where the match may be played, we will not take the field, so I refer the leaders of Swedish football.

Among the athletes of other disciplines, also the Russian tennis player Andrey Rublev and the Georgian basketball player Tornike Shengelja (ready to leave CSKA on principle), like the Ukrainian Ruslan Malinovsky and Russian Alexei Miranchuk, both players in Atalanta, demonstrated against the war. The Klitshcko brothers, Vitali, mayor of Kiev, and Wladimir, five years younger but also a former world boxing champion, are ready to join the Ukrainian army to lend a hand to the resistance. The Brazilian footballers of the Shakthar Donetsk meanwhile they managed to find a way to leave Kiev by train, moving west, unlike the Italian coach Roberto De Zerbiwho said he wanted to stay in the capital until the end.
Dayana Yastremska120th tennis player in the world in the WTA ranking, managed to escape with his younger sister, telling the French newspaper l’Equipe about his family’s tragedy.

Everton

After the Chelsea case, with Abramovich’s farewell to the presidency, there is that of Everton: the English parliament is also leveraging investments in favor of the club. Alisher Usmanov, entrepreneur and operator of the second largest Russian mobile telephone operator, as well as president of the international fencing federation. In the past, the sports executive said he was proud to know Putin. In spite of this, the fans of theEverton they accepted the invitation to show solidarity with the Ukrainian people with choirs and banners displayed outside and inside the stadium, on the occasion of the last game played.

Judo, Putin suspended

Also there International Judo Federation (Ijf) openly disagrees with the invasion of Ukraine. It does so by directly hitting the Russian president, a well-known enthusiast and practitioner of this martial art, suspending his office as honorary president and ambassador of the organization. To discipline Putin he had also dedicated a book, translated into various languages. The Italian version entitled Learn judo with Putin, history, technique, preparation.