The French Federation calls for Russia to be expelled from the World Cup if it qualified
The president of the French Football Federation, Noel Le Graet, called on Sunday in an interview with the newspaper "Le Parisien" to expel Russia from the World Cup scheduled for the end of this year in Qatar, in response to Russia's invasion of its neighbor Ukraine.
On the fourth day of the Russian invasion that sparked angry reactions around the world, the two sides said they were ready to hold talks to stop the military battle that has forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes.
Lugraite, whose country won the last edition of the World Cup in 2018 on Russian soil, said that "the world of sports, especially football, cannot remain neutral. I certainly will not oppose Russia's expulsion" from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Russia has not qualified for the finals yet, but must go through the European supplement in the second track, which includes the teams of Poland, Sweden and the Czech Republic, all of which refused to face the Russian team.
Russia was scheduled to host Poland on March 24 and Sweden to the Czech Republic on the same day, with the two winners facing each other in Russia on March 29.
The three federations preempted any decision from the International Federation (FIFA) regarding this annex by refusing to confront Russia.
Lugrait supported the decision issued by Sweden, Poland and the Czech Republic, saying that "in these tragic circumstances, how can anyone imagine playing football against this country."
The International Federation of the game "FIFA" has not yet taken any measure towards Russia, saying only on Thursday that its president, Gianni Infantino, was "concerned" about the "tragic and frightening" situation.
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