With the entire world in shock following theinvasion of the Russian troops on the Ukrainian territory, the soccer landscape is obviously also affected by this threatening war. UEFA called for an emergency meeting on Friday, when they’ll probably decide to relocate the 2021-22 Champions League final.
Schalke 04 have removed the logo of Gazprom – a Russian company -from their jersey, while Poland, Sweden, and Czech Republic have already announced they won’t travel to Russia for the 2022 World Cup Qualifying playoffs.
Poland are scheduled to face Russia in Moscow on March 24, with the winner facing either Sweden or Czech Republic with a Qatar 2022 berth on the line. However, they made their stance clear in a joint statement.
Poland, Czech Republic, and Sweden refuse to play in Russia in 2022 World Cup playoffs
(Via The Sun)
“Based on the current alarming development in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine including the security situation, the Football Associations of Poland, Sweden and Czech Republic express their firm position that the play-off matches to qualify for the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar, scheduled for 24 and 29 March 2022 should not be played in the territory of the Russian Federation.
“The signatories to this appeal to not consider travelling to Russia and playing football matches there.
“The military escalation that we are observing entails serious consequences and considerably lower safety for our national football teams and official delegations.
“Therefore, we expect Fifa and Uefa to react immediately and to present alternative solutions regarding places where these approaching play-offs can take place.”
UEFA is already preparing to remove the Champions League final from Saint Petersburg, with the official announcement expected to be made on Friday after the emergency meeting. So, given the alarming situation, it would make sense thatFIFA does the same with the Qatar 2022 playoffs.
