Sources in the International Football Federation (FIFA) assure that its leadership reacts very painfully to the information announced by many countries that they should boycott the 2018 World Cup in Russia, writes lrytas.lt.
"FIFA is in panic about calls to boycott the World Football Championship in Russia. Although this organization publicly remains calm and does not make any comments on proposals to ignore the championship in Russia, after the poisoning of the double agent Sergei Skripal in London with Russian combat gas, FIFA officials unofficially consider that the situation around the tournament has reached a critical point," writes the Spanish newspaper AS.
Representatives from various countries have publicly expressed the idea that after another Russian security "death operation," more decisive measures should finally be taken: in response to Russia's reckless behavior, boycotting the 2018 World Cup in this country is necessary.
"It is known that FIFA President Gianni Infantino is really not the same as he was around Russia after the accusations of killing a man, although he tries to hide it. And there are no signs that the pressure to boycott will diminish, and the situation will worsen. And the further we go, the worse it will be, and the issue of hosting and participating in the 2018 World Cup will already be raised at the end of March," states the Spanish media source.
It is said that besides England's considerations of a possible boycott of the World Football Championship, Poland, Japan, and Australia will also speak out in favor. However, the German Football Association opposed the boycott of the World Cup. Their team should defend the champion title in Russia.
"We are against boycott – it is better to have a dialogue than confrontation. The Olympics in South Korea showed that sports can unite and reduce prejudice," said Reinhard Grindel, head of the German Football Association.
On the other hand, former head of the global organization "Doctors Without Borders" Rony Braumann supported the idea of a boycott, reassuring that this initiative will have a "rescue mission" because it will force Russia to withdraw from Syria, where its soldiers caused a humanitarian catastrophe.
"If there is any societal position possible, we need to talk about a boycott of the World Cup. We know that a sports boycott has a very strong impact. Personally, I do not have enough resources to start such a campaign, but I support those who start talking about it. This boycott should have a rescue mission because pressure would really force Russia to think more rationally," said the former head of "Doctors Without Borders" to the French press.
lrytas.lt
