The time of cosmetic sanctions therefore lasted only one day. Even under banner and on neutral ground, without anthem or made up in “Russian football federation”, Russia was excluded, Monday, February 28, from the next World Cup by its organizer, FIFA. On Sunday, the international football federation had taken – unanimously from the bureau of its Council – these decisions. They thus left the possibility for the “Sbornaïa” to compete in the play-offs on March 24 and 28 and perhaps to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar at the end of the year (November 21-December 18).
Often very dog and cat in recent years on different subjects, FIFA and UEFA, the very powerful European confederation, apparently made a common cause and press release to announce, shortly before 7 p.m., the suspension of national teams and Russian clubs. of all competitions, until further notice. “Football here is totally united and in full support of all those affected in Ukraine. The two presidents [Gianni Infantino pour la FIFA et Aleksander Ceferin pour l’UEFA] hope that the situation in Ukraine will improve significantly and quickly so that football can once again be a vehicle for unity and peace between peoples”, advance the two instances in reference to the invasion of the country by the armies of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
For Russian football, the consequences are numerous and hurtful. The women’s selection is deprived of the English Euro in July and Spartak Moscow is excluded from the Europa League before playing its round of 16 against the Germans of RB Leipzig. According to our information, the decision to sanction the clubs made its way from Sunday at UEFA, FIFA having aligned on Monday.
Member of his office like all the other confederation presidents, “the European” Aleksander Ceferin pushed to suspend the host country of the 2018 World Cup. Could it be otherwise? Russia’s play-off opponents (ie Poland and winners Sweden-Czech Republic) were prepared to assume the empty-field policy at the risk of being considered forfeited.
Infantino, “king of consensus”
“Gianni Infantino realized the mess made on Sunday”, says someone close to the case to explain the change of foot made by the boss of FIFA. By bazaar, there would have already been a Russian qualification obtained on green carpet, the door open to a potential boycott of the World Cup by certain qualified countries.
For a former collaborator of the Swiss leader, the latter has “acted under the pressure of all others as the king of consensus and soft reform”. According to this source, Mr. Infantino “never decide anything without covering up”. In this case, that coverage took the form earlier on Monday of a statement from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommending that International Federations “do not invite” Russian and Belarusian athletes and teams in international sports competitions.
For football fans, the next Champions League evening will therefore not begin with these few notes that have become familiar from the Piano Concerto No. 1 by Tchaikovsky, soundtrack since 2012 of the Gazprom spot, official sponsor of the most prestigious European club competition and of which the Russian State is the majority shareholder. UEFA broke up ” with immediate effect “ its partnership with the gas giant.
Renewed on May 19, 2021, the contract ran until 2024. “The invasion left us with no alternativeexplains a senior European leader. It would have been morally impossible to continue with a Russian state company while sanctioning Russian clubs. » According to our information, the new contract would amount to more than 40 million euros per year for the Champions League, not to mention another contract sealed for Euro 2024, also broken.
The blue flame goes out for UEFA
For ten years, the Gazprom logo (with its blue flame) flooded European stadiums and screens around the world, a perfect example of “soft power” assumed from the outset by its managing director, Alexei Miller. “I am convinced that this collaboration will enhance Gazprom’s reputation and raise our brand awareness to a fundamentally new level globally”announced at the time the current vice-president of the Russian football federation.
Interested in the acquisition in 2003 of… Paris Saint Germainthis close friend of Vladimir Putin once dreamed of creating a “unified football league” on the “neo-Soviet” model of the KHL in ice hockey with clashes between Moscow teams and Ukrainian clubs such as Dynamo Kiev and Chakhtar Donetsk. The annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the first Russian-Ukrainian crisis had put an end to his great project.
“We light up football”, says the Gazprom slogan. Under the influence of these historic sanctions, it is all Russian football – in which the oligarchs close to the Kremlin were encouraged to invest in the 2000s – which plunges into darkness. In the wake of FIFA and UEFA announcements, the Russian federation denounced decisions “with a discriminatory effect on a large number of athletes, coaches, club employees or the national team”. She also claims to “reserve the right to challenge this decision of FIFA and UEFA in accordance with international sports law”without providing any further details such as a possible appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
If the Russians will not see Qatar and its air-conditioned stadiums, the Ukrainians are still committed to these play-offs and must travel to Scotland on March 24. But with which players? As part of the general mobilization, footballers playing in the country do not have the right to leave the national territory like all men aged 18 to 60. But for them, the most important game to win is probably not the one scheduled on the lawn of Hampden Park in Glasgow.