FIFA kicks Russia out of World Cup
By 
Russia have been kicked out of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar by FIFA after the world governing body and the European association, UEFA, issued a joint statement to confirm that all Russian national teams and clubs have been suspended until further notice following the invasion of Ukraine.
Amid growing pressure from European nations and the International Olympic Committee, FIFA and UEFA confirmed Monday that Russia would have no involvement in the upcoming World Cup playoffs — Russia were due to play Poland in a semifinal ahead of a potential final against Sweden or the Czech Republic in March — and that the Russia women’s team would be removed from the European Championships due to be staged in England in July.
Spartak Moscow have also been removed from the Europa League, meaning round of 16 opponent RB Leipzig will be handed a bye to the quarterfinals of the competition.
In a further move, UEFA confirmed that it was canceling its deal with sponsor Gazprom — the Russian energy company — which is worth €40 million a year to the organisation.
UEFA’s decision comes after Saint Petersburg was stripped of the hosting rights to this season’s Champions League final, with Paris stepping in following the move to take the showpiece fixture away from the Russian city.
In unrelated news, the monumental sculpture of a buffalo just south of my office window has detached itself from its base and is flying around the building.
I’m not sure how intense the soccer fanaticism is in Russia — whether it’s comparable to that found in say England or Italy or Brazil or Argentina — but this recent survey found it was the single most popular sport in the nation, edging out hockey, which to the best of my knowledge is followed very broadly and passionately.
A friend of mine comments that anybody who can force the heads of the Swiss banking system and the leadership of FIFA to act like decent human beings has achieved something truly remarkable.
But in all seriousness, huge numbers of people who are otherwise largely indifferent to politics are going to get very interested if you take their games away.
So there’s some reason to hope that this is the kind of thing that will genuinely hurt Putin’s regime at the margin.