By: EFE Updated 24 Feb 2022, 16: 51 pm EST
Gianni Infantino, president of the FIFA, assured this Thursday that its organization is closely following the war in Ukraine, appealed for “constructive dialogue” for its resolution and declared to be waiting for the evolution of the conflict to make decisions about the qualifying matches for the Qatar World Cup that will be played in the month of March.
There are four matches that will be played on the day 24 of that month: Wales-Austria, Sweden-Republic Czech and, above all, Scotland-Ukraine and Russia-Poland, with two of the countries affected by the conflict as protagonists.
After the meeting of the FIFA Council, Infantino, at a press conference, addressed the situation of football in relation to the war in Ukraine and declared that his organization is “ very concerned” about the situation in addition to expressing raise their “hope” that hostilities will cease quickly so that peace can come to Ukraine.
Gianni Infantino: “FIFA condemns the use of force on the part of Russia, not violence”
The president of the world governing body of soccer spoke out in the face of the war that has been highlighted in recent hours. pic.twitter.com/0NYZM7pKjf
– Gol Caracol (@GolCaracol) February 16, 2022
“FIFA condemns the use of force by Russia and the use of any kind of violence. Violence is never the solution. We call on all parties to restore peace through a constructive dialogue”, he stated.
He assured that FIFA is “extremely” concerned about the situation and reported that is in “continuous contact” with the different federations that have to play the qualifying matches for the World Cup in Qatar 2022.
“For example, with the Russian Federation and with the rest. Right now, this situation is constantly evolving. We believe that we have to continue to monitor the situation in order to make a decision which we will always do depending on our statutes, in which a match can be suspended. In the world there are several countries with conflicts and FIFA has to deal with these situations. Always in dialogue with all the parties and making the appropriate decisions when we are ready”, he commented.
Infantino: “FIFA condemns violence. Football is not the priority at the moment, but FIFA will communicate the decisions on the World Cup qualifying matches very soon”
— Arancha Rodríguez (@AranchaMOBILE) February 24, 2022
“The situation that we all discovered this morning is obviously very tragic and very worrying. We have a duty to look at this matter carefully. The first match will take place a month from now and we hope that this whole situation will be resolved well before the match. As soon as possible. We strongly believe in it. We have a body that can make decisions at any time. We will make decisions when appropriate”, he insisted.
He also declared that FIFA shows all its “solidarity” with “the people affected ” for the conflict and declared that in situations like the one Russia and Ukraine are experiencing, football “stops being a priority”. Even so, FIFA, “as the governing body”, has the obligation to deal with the consequences for football in line with what is happening in Ukraine.
“We are following the situation closely and will inform of the news about the qualifying matches for the Qatar World Cup. The ‘bureau’ of the Council is in charge of dealing with this type of matter and will take decisions immediately if necessary. The situation worries us all. I can quote the secretary general of the United Nations Organization: ‘in the name of humanity, we have to bring people together to put an end to any kind of violence,’” he concluded.
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