Roller coasters. Just over four years ago, Russia was the stronghold of world football. The host country of the 2018 World Cup had welcomed selections, supporters and journalists from all over the world with the firm desire to give a good image. This is what several young Russians told us in 2018, who wanted their country to open up a little more. And what better than the most watched event in the world to achieve this? Overall, the tournament was a success and there were no major hiccups in the organization. But four years later, the tournament which crowned the French team on July 15 at the Luzhniki stadium in Moscow seems very far away. It belongs to another world, another football. The one that took place far from the fields of war and ruin.
Engaged in a long war with Ukraine, the nation led by Vladimir Putin has lost big in football. The image it had managed to shape in 2018 disappeared when it escalated its conflict with the country presided over by Volodymyr Zelensky. Today, Russia is singled out and banned from world football. On February 28, she was officially excluded from the 2022 World Cup as well as the 2022-23 Nations League by FIFA and UEFA. A joint decision of the two bodies. “Following the first decisions adopted by the FIFA Council and the UEFA Executive Committee, which envisaged the adoption of additional measures, FIFA and UEFA decided today together that all Russian teams, whether whether national teams or clubs, will be suspended from participating in FIFA and UEFA Competitions until further notice.”could we read on the press release.
FIFA and UEFA have excluded Russia
A sanction deemed abusive by the Russian Federation (RFS). “The Russian Football Union categorically disagrees with the decision of FIFA and UEFA to suspend all Russian teams from participating in international matches for an indefinite period. We believe that this decision is contrary to the norms and principles of international competition, as well as to the spirit of sport. It is clearly discriminatory and harms a large number of athletes, coaches, club and national team employees and, above all, millions of Russian and foreign fans, whose international sports organizations must protect interests first. […] We reserve the right to challenge the decision of FIFA and UEFA in accordance with international sports law. » Twice dismissed by the CAS, Russia tried everything before withdrawing its last resort in April.
The country also lost the organization of the Champions League final which was to be held in Saint Petersburg. In September, he learned that he was excluded from Euro 2024. Rejected by the world of football and marginalized, Russia is paying a high price. But FIFA like UEFA do not intend to change their position and support Ukraine. Withdrawn into itself, the nation led by Vladimir Putin maintains its championship despite everything. The Premier League days thus proceeded as planned in stadiums across the country until mid-November. Zenit also dominates the standings with 42 points, ahead of Spartak Moscow (36 points) and Rostov (35 less). But with the truce linked to the World Cup, the Russian league had to go on hiatus. Moreover, only two players from the Russian Premier League are currently participating in the World Cup in Qatar. They are Dejan Lovren (Zenit/Croatia) and Moumi Ngamaleu (Dinamo Moscow/Cameroon).
Two Russian Premier League players at the World Cup
They somehow managed to circumvent the ban on “Russians”, even though the authorities had not threatened the elements operating in Russia with reprisals if they remained there. Their selections felt that they had their place despite the fact that they evolve in Russia and the decisions taken by FIFA and UEFA against the Soviet country. Maciej Rybus (Spartak), he was dismissed for this reason by the coach of Poland, an ally of Ukraine. As in other disciplines, like basketball where France has set aside Thomas Heurtel because he plays in Saint Petersburg, some selections have decided to do without the services of elements playing in Russia. Gaël Ondoua (Hanover), who could have defended the Russian colors since he grew up in the country since he was 9 years old, opted for Cameroon. But he had a thought for Russia since we saw a flag of his country and another of Russia on his crampons Thursday against Switzerland during the first day of the World Cup.
A competition, in addition to the war, which does not prevent Russian football from advancing almost as if nothing had happened. While waiting for the resumption of the championship, which will be for the beginning of March due to the freezing winter on Soviet lands, the clubs took the opportunity to play the Russian Cup. This is what the Russian journalist Dmitrii Zimin explains to us for the site championnat.com. “League matches are not played in Russia because of the World Cup. But the clubs have to play two rounds of the Russian Cup. The first round took place two days ago. The second will take place this weekend. The schedule was set up this way because the clubs didn’t want to give the players too much time off.. Indeed, it would have been four months without playing if the teams had not taken this decision. For its part, the Russian national team is also impacted by the decisions of the governing bodies. Valery Karpine faces a headache when summoning players. Artem Dzyuba, for example, refused the selection because many members of his family live in Ukraine.
Hardly anyone wants to face Russia
This is not the only problem for Karpine. Indeed, few nations agree to face Sbornaïa. In September, she was able to cross swords with Kyrgyzstan (2-1 victory, September 24). In November, she had three matches on the menu but only played two. The friendly against Bosnia was postponed and created tensions since several executives, such as Edin Dzeko and Miralem Pjanic, refused to play this meeting organized by their federation. Be that as it may, Russia is struggling to find opponents, admits Dmitrii Zimin. “The Russian team played two friendly matches against Tajikistan (0-0) and Uzbekistan (0-0). Unfortunately, most countries refuse to play matches against Russia. Therefore, the team plays in Asia. Now the coach mostly looks at young players and doesn’t think about results. The national team is working and intends to one day return to international tournaments..
In the meantime, football fans continue to participate in the World Cup in their own way. While the national team is not welcome in Qatar, the event is very little followed in the country, tells us Dmitrii Zimin. “The sports channel broadcasts the World Cup live. All matches are broadcast, there are studios with experts. About 50 Russian journalists are currently working in Qatar. So there is no problem there. Russians are not so interested in the World Cup without the Russian national team. I think there will be a lot of interest in the playoffs.”. It remains to be seen whether by then the Russian-Ukrainian conflict will be over and what the decisions of the various governing bodies will be. In the meantime, Russia is experiencing this 2022 World Cup with less euphoria and passion than four years ago. That was another story.
