Infantino spoke about Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine at a press conference on Thursday (24/02/2022) after an hour-long digital meeting of the FIFA Council. “FIFA condemns the use of force by Russia in Ukraine and any form of conflict resolution violence”said Infantino. Violence is never a solution and FIFA is calling “all parties involved” to the peace “to restore through a constructive dialogue”. Infantino did not make any further statements about who refused to engage in dialogue and who was waging the war.
Does Infantino Return Putin’s “Order of Friendship”?
FIFA has recently been a welcome guest in Russia. In 2018, the world association held the World Cup in Russia, and Infantino was on stage with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin at the award ceremony for world champion France. Major sporting events consolidate and legitimize autocratic rulers and dictators.
Vladimir Putin has also repeatedly benefited from such events. Formula 1 drives regularly in Russia, in 2014 the IOC came to Sochi with the Winter Olympics and FIFA hosted the World Cup in Russia in 2018 – four years after the illegal annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea by Russia.
Around a year after the tournament, in May 2019, Putin awarded Infantino the “Order of Friendship” in Moscow. Infantino was now asked at the press conference if he had any regrets about the 2018 tournament and if he would return the medal. The answer: “Sport should be about bringing people together, in a peaceful environment. People from countries who have no relationship with each other or are even in conflict. I absolutely believe that sport brings people together. Today my thoughts are with those affected by this escalating conflict.”
Poland, Sweden and the Czech Republic don’t want to play in Russia
While the civilian population in Ukraine has to fear for life and limb, FIFA has organizational questions regarding the World Cup qualification in Europe. In the playoffs for the World Cup in Qatar, Russia is scheduled to play against Poland in the semi-finals on March 24 in Moscow. In the final on March 29, Russia would also have home rights if they progressed, then against the Czech Republic or Sweden. The associations from Poland, the Czech Republic and Sweden wrote in a joint open letter to FIFA that they did not want to play in Russia under any circumstances and asked that the match be relocated to other venues.