World Cup
War in Ukraine: FIFA wipes Russia off the football map
No tournament on its territory, reference to the name of the country’s football association, absence of flag and national anthem and possible ban of national teams from all events are FIFA decisions for Russia.
FIFA has been following the path set out by the International Olympic Committee for several hours when it announced that from now on, unknown until when, it will not recognize the Russian national teams as… Russia because of the invasion of Ukraine! Instead, they will henceforth compete as the Russian Football Union (RFU), similar to what happens to athletes who compete in the Olympic Games as members of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC).
Specifically, as stated in FIFA’s announcement:
- There will be no international tournament on Russian soil, the home games will take place at neutral venues without spectators.
- The teams representing Russia play in each case, which is called “Russian Football Union” and not “Russia”.
- The country’s flag and anthem are not used in “Russian Football Union” matches.
FIFA is in contact with the ILO and UEFA to decide on the next steps and the next sanctions, even the possibility of banning the Russians from any event if there is no immediate solution to the problem of the past few days, a immediate solution to the war in Ukraine has broken out in just 24 hours, leaving thousands dead and wounded.
“FIFA believes that the sport movement should be united in the decisions on this case and that sport should continue to speak about peace and hope“reports world football’s governing body, which says it is in open dialogue with Poland, the Czech Republic and Sweden, Russia’s opponents in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, to find a solution for the matches between them.”
Sophia Jhon is a sports journalist and author. He has worked as a news editor for Sportish and is now a sport columnist for the same publication. Alberta’s professional interests lie largely in sports news, with an emphasis on English football. He has also written articles on other sporting topics.
St. Pauli President and member of the German Football Association Oke Göttlich He said that a possible boycott of the 2026 World Cup due to US President Donald Trump’s actions and statements regarding Greenland should be seriously discussed in the football community.
In his opinion, such a discussion is long overdue and the potential threat is even greater than the boycotts of the Olympic Games in the 1980s.
“I’m really asking myself when the moment will come to specifically think and talk about this. For me, that time has already come. In my opinion, the potential threat now is much greater than it was at the 1980 Olympic Games. We have to have this discussion.”
As a society, we forget how to set taboos and boundaries. Is the taboo broken when someone threatens or attacks?” said the officer.
The 2026 World Cup is planned to be held in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
Source: Sport UA
I am a writer at Sportish, where I mainly cover sports news. I’ve also written for The Guardian and ESPN Brasil, and my work has been featured on NBC Sports, SI.com and more. Before working in journalism, I was an athlete: I played football for Colgate University and competed in the US Open Cross Country Championships.
In 2024, information emerged that the Brazilian midfielder of Shakhtar Pedrinho could become a player of the Ukrainian national team. Later, the actor himself indirectly confirmed this. And just yesterday this news took a new form. Moreover, there is a possibility that Pedrinho will be naturalized during the Blue-Yellow matches to be played in March.
Will this be a strength for Sergei Rebrov’s team? The former coach of the national team told the Meta.ua website exclusively: Miron Markevich.
“It is difficult for me to give a definitive answer to this question,” Markevich said. – However, it seems to me that Shakhtar has stronger players in the midfield line. Another question is whether the football player has expressed a desire to play for the Ukrainian national team and whether the head coach needs him.
Of course, in general, Pedrinho is a quality player. This season the midfielder plays effective football, is light and agile. A player with these qualities could have helped in the match against Sweden, which had a strong performance. But still, if Sergei Rebrov needs a Brazilian, it means he sees something in this football player. The mentor is responsible for the outcome and is the one who decides.
We have many players who can combine on the midline and there is serious competition. I hope Alexander Zinchenko starts playing, we also have strong players like Georgy Sudakov, Viktor Tsygankov, Alexander Zubkov, Alexey Gutsulyak, Ruslan Malinovsky. Therefore, considering all of the above, it is a question whether this will be a panacea for the national team.
Let us also remind you that the Ukraine national team will play the 2026 World Cup qualifying tournament play-off semi-final match against Sweden on March 26. The winner of this match in the final will face the winner of the match between Poland and Albania on March 31 for the right to advance to the final part of the tournament.
Source: Sport UA
I am a writer at Sportish, where I mainly cover sports news. I’ve also written for The Guardian and ESPN Brasil, and my work has been featured on NBC Sports, SI.com and more. Before working in journalism, I was an athlete: I played football for Colgate University and competed in the US Open Cross Country Championships.
World Cup
Infantino joked about England fans being arrested. And was subjected to a wave of criticism
FIFA President Gianni Infantino He found himself under a wave of criticism from pundits and fans after he joked about the behavior of England fans at the World Cup during a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Speaking to world leaders, Infantino joked: “For the first time in history, no Britons have been arrested at the World Cup (Qatar 2022 tournament), this statistic is really special.”
However, such words were not accepted in England. Chief Constable Mark Roberts, who heads the football policing force, said such statements might be made in jest but were neither helpful nor accurate. Roberts emphasized that decent behavior by England fans at World Cups was the norm rather than something special, and cited data from recent world forums on the minimum number of arrests of Englishmen.
Infantino’s words, in addition to criticism from the police, also led to the Football Fans’ Association (FSA) calling on the FIFA president to focus not on “cheap jokes” but on the issue of high ticket prices for the 2026 World Cup, which has caused discontent among fans.
VIDEO. Infantino joked about England fans being arrested
FIFA President Gianni Infantino: (2022 FIFA World Cup)
For the first time in history no Englishman was arrested during a World Cup.
Imagine! This is something truly special. pic.twitter.com/1OBH9EeZOQ
— Clash Report (@clashreport) January 22, 2026
Source: Sport UA
I am a writer at Sportish, where I mainly cover sports news. I’ve also written for The Guardian and ESPN Brasil, and my work has been featured on NBC Sports, SI.com and more. Before working in journalism, I was an athlete: I played football for Colgate University and competed in the US Open Cross Country Championships.
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