The Russians will not be able to participate in the qualifying matches for the 2022 World Cup at the end of March. The Court of Arbitration for Sport, which they had seized, did not respond to their request for suspension of the exclusion decision taken on February 28 by the International Football Federation (FIFA), following the war started by Russia in Ukraine.
This decision, communicated on Friday March 18, is similar to that made on Tuesday March 15, regarding the sanctions also taken by UEFA against Russian football. However, it does not in any way announce the future judgment of the sports justice on the merits of the dispute, which is not expected for at least several weeks.
“The arbitration procedure is continuing. A panel of arbitrators is currently being set up and the parties are exchanging written observations. No hearing has yet been set”said the court based in Lausanne.
The refusal to grant the Russian appeal a suspensive effect deprives the national team of its chances of winning a ticket for the tournament in Qatar, which will take place from November 21 to December 18. Hosts of the last men’s World Cup, in 2018, where they had reached the quarter-finals, the Russians were to meet the Poles in the play-offs on March 24 in Moscow.
As decided by FIFA, Poland is therefore directly qualified for the final of these play-offs, on March 29, against the winner of the match Sweden – Czech Republic. Poles, Swedes and Czechs had refused to face the Russians, thus exposing themselves to inevitable sanctions – in view of the statutes of FIFA.
