Russia does not intend to stop there. Excluded from the play-offs at the World Cup in Qatar by Fifa after the invasion of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin’s army, the Russian Federation will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to be reinstated, explains she in a press release. As a reminder, Russia, second in their group, were to face Poland at the end of March in the semi-final of the play-offs, before facing in the event of victory the winner of the Czech Republic – Sweden with, at stake, a ticket for Qatar.
The Russian Federation demands the reinstatement of all national men’s and women’s teams in all competitions, she assures, asking the CAS “for an accelerated procedure” on this file, three weeks before the scheduled meeting against the Poles, who have announced that they would not play this match under any circumstances.
She believes that Fifa and UEFA had “no legal basis” to act on this withdrawal, decided “under pressure” from rival federations like the Polish association. She also regrets not having been able to present her position before the authorities.
A remedy for the Paralympic Games
As soon as this decision by the international football authorities was published on Monday, the Russian Federation denounced the “discriminatory” effects of the measure “on a large number of athletes, coaches, club employees or the national team” .
Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin, for his part, announced a similar appeal to sports justice to reinstate Russia in the Paralympic Winter Games, which open on Friday, hoping to obtain a decision “before the ceremony of opening” while Russian (and Belarusian) athletes have been excluded by the International Paralympic Committee.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup, a major sporting event of the year, is being held from November 21 to December 18, and the Russians had a chance of qualifying for it, if they won their two play-off matches scheduled for the end of March.
Russia, host of the last World Cup in 2018, has been the target of multiple sanctions from the sports world since the launch of the military intervention in Ukraine, between canceled competitions, athletes and teams not grata and broken sponsorship contracts.
