According to the International Sports Arbitration (CAS), the exclusion of the Russian national football team from the qualifying cycle for promotion to the 2022 World Cup was in the interests of a successful competition; the opposite would cause “irreparable damage”. This follows from the published minutes of the trial between the International Football Association FIFA and the Russian counterpart.
FIFA eliminated Russia from qualifying for the championship in Qatar due to a military attack on Ukraine. Poland advanced from the March semifinals of the playoffs without a fight, which then defeated Sweden 2-0 in the final and secured a place in the final tournament.
The Polish, Swedish and Czech teams, which were all potential rivals of Russia in the playoffs, announced in advance that they would not play a possible match.
“These decisions are understandable and cannot be criticized from a legal or moral point of view,” FIFA’s defense was quoted as saying by AP.
The arbitration of the CAS rejected the first appeal of the Russian Football Association before the start of the semifinals and confirmed its decision last week.
“After considering all the factors, FIFA must act to ensure the efficient organization and smooth running of its competitions,” CAS said, adding that the integrity of the biggest football tournament would be jeopardized.
The lawyers of the Russian Football Federation consider the exclusion of the men’s and women’s teams to be only a part of international sanctions, without a proper opportunity to defend themselves in court.
According to CAS, in the event of Russia’s participation in Qatar, the course of the championship would be in jeopardy, as it can be assumed that other teams would refuse to compete with each other. The safety of Russian footballers during the tournament could also be uncertain.
The Russians are thus virtually without a chance to get to the championship. It will be played in Qatar from November 21 to December 18, and a draw for the World Cup groups has already taken place in Doha at the beginning of April.
Russian biathlon, figure skating and speed skating, gymnastics, rowing and rugby associations are still fighting against similar decisions of international federations.
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