Jacques Vendroux 9:14 p.m., February 28, 2022, modified at 9:17 p.m., February 28, 2022
In an interview with Europe 1, the president of the French federation welcomes the fact that Vladimir Putin's Russia, which has declared war on Ukraine, is suspended from football competitions organized by FIFA and UEFA.
Russia will not be able to participate in the 2022 World Cup.
Noël Le Graët had come out in favor of excluding Russia from the next World Cup this fall in Qatar.
The president of the French football federation welcomes exclusively on Europe 1 the joint decision of the international (FIFA) and European (UEFA) federations to suspend until further notice the Russian clubs and national teams from all the competitions organized by these bodies. .
"It's a very good decision, even if it's a shame for football"
“I am very happy that the two presidents of FIFA and UEFA have reached an agreement, declares Noël Le Graët. I really like that they are on the same wavelength. very good decision. It's a shame for football, but football is not a priority in these cases."
The head of the FFF continues: "The two presidents [Gianni Infantino and Aleksander Čeferin] understood that we could very well avoid a certain number of matches while waiting for these two countries to make peace. You know, I'm like all of you, very shocked by what is happening. I never thought I would see a war in Europe again."
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"What is important is that UEFA and FIFA have taken the same decision"
Noël Le Graët insists: "What is important is that UEFA and FIFA, without any discussion, took the same decision. And that, I think, is very good because they do not take always the same decisions. It's often complicated. Football is sometimes difficult to manage."
Concretely, Russia will not be able to compete in the qualifying play-offs for the next World Cup in a month.