Don’t give FIFA credit for kicking out Russia – they are only motivated by greed

FIFA is a uniquely spineless sporting governing body. 

That’s no mean feat, but this weekend’s comically feeble set of initial ‘sanctions’ on the Russian football team in the wake of last week’s invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces was a good reminder of their recent history of relative moral bankruptcy. 

Having initially refused to ban Russia from footballing competition, FIFA then announced on Monday that the team will be suspended until further notice. 

Seeing football’s governing body begrudgingly cave to public pressure from fans, individual FAs, players and precedent from other sporting bodies was the type of quick about-face often seen in organisations with no driving principles bar those of self-interest and convenience.

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In case you were actually out enjoying your weekend instead of doomscrolling and half-watching the Carabao Cup final, here’s a reminder of how exactly this sorry episode unfolded. 

After a handful of countries’ FAs (fellow World Cup qualifying playoff teams Poland, Sweden and the Czech Republic chief among them, along with England) released statements confirming they’ll refuse to play against Russia for the foreseeable future, FIFA put out their own communication on Sunday – a sad, damp squib of a statement after individual countries had taken much stronger stances. 

The current FIFA administration has proven itself no better than the one it succeeded when it comes to almost any issue affecting the game

Russia, FIFA said, could still play their games, obviously, but under the name of the Football Union of Russia, not just ‘Russia’. 

On top of that, they can’t display their flag or play their home games in their own