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Poland, Sweden And Czech Republic Respond After FIFA Confirm Russia Sanctions For World Cup Qualifiers

Poland, Sweden And Czech Republic Respond After FIFA Confirm Russia Sanctions For World Cup Qualifiers

Russia's invasion on Ukraine has led to three potential World Cup qualification rivals saying they won't play against them no matter what.

Ryan Sidle

Ryan Sidle

FIFA have decided to hand out some IOC style sanctions to Russia, following the invasion of Ukraine, but it's not enough for their upcoming opponents.


Sport has had to deal with fallout from Russia declaring war on Ukraine earlier this week, with UEFA and F1 amongst those to have reacted quickly.

On Sunday, the head of the French Football Federation called on FIFA to expel the country from the World Cup later this year, which they are yet to qualify for.

Russia do have an upcoming play off against Poland, and would face either Sweden or Czech Republic if they were successful, but all three countries have already said they won't face Valeri Karpin's side.

FIFA have responded by putting sanctions on Russia, similar to the ones the country have imposed on them at the Olympics by the IOC.

Football's world governing body have banned any matches from taking place in the country, and will make them play under the name "Football Union of Russia (RFU)” and not “Russia."

Finally FIFA say "no flag or anthem of Russia will be used in matches where teams from the Football Union of Russia participate."

At the Olympics, 'Russia' compete as the Russian Olympic Committee, have no Russian flags (as you can clearly see), and no Russian anthem. Image: PA Images
At the Olympics, 'Russia' compete as the Russian Olympic Committee, have no Russian flags (as you can clearly see), and no Russian anthem. Image: PA Images

Unsurprisingly though, those sanctions have not been seen as enough as the three teams who could soon face Karpin's team, for a place in this winter's World Cup in Qatar.

Already the trio have hit out at FIFA, saying they will not play Russia under any circumstances, whilst the invasion continues in Ukraine.

The head of the Polish FA, Cezary Kulesza, responded with a statement, saying, "Today’s FIFA decision is totally unacceptable.

"We are not interested in participating in this game of appearances.

"Our stance remains intact: Polish National Team will NOT PLAY with Russia, no matter what the name of the team is."

The Czech FA also put out a statement, saying, "The Czech FA executive committee, staff members and players of the national team agreed it’s not possible to play against the Russian national team in the current situation, not even on the neutral venue.

"We all want the war to end as soon as possible."

The Swedish FA have also reportedly followed the other two in saying that they will not play Russia, even with the sanctions from FIFA.

The decision from the three associations could lead to FIFA either being forced to throw Russia out of the World Cup or sending them into the finals without playing a play off.

UEFA have their own issues to deal with, as the English FA have said they will not play any fixtures against Russia going forward.

Whilst there is not currently any fixtures set, Russia have qualified for the Women's Euros in England this summer and there is the World Cup in November too.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Football World Cup, Russia, FIFA, Sweden, Ukraine, Czech Republic

Ryan is a journalist for SPORTbible with over eight years of experience. Passionate about all sports, he mainly covers football and F1 - Daniel Ricciardo once spent an entire interview referring to him as 'Ryan Gosling,' still his proudest moment.

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@Sidler28