FIFA falls short with Russia punishment on weekend football shows its support to Ukraine – The Warm-Up

MONDAY’S BIG STORIES Football does its bit – in the main Ad/> On a sporting weekend filled with tributes, statements and poignant moments amid the suffering in Ukraine, perhaps the most remembered will be compatriots Vitaliy Mykolenko and Oleksandr Zinchenko embracing some 2,000 miles from a homeland that is under attack. Premier League'I got a little bit carried away' — Klopp on wild celebration24/02/2022 AT 10:59 It was a reminder that footballers can’t simply stick to football, that sport can’t avoid ‘politics’, and that the magnitude of this crisis goes well beyond one nation.

There will be sceptics out there criticising what they may deem as empty gestures at stadia on the other side of Europe, but there can be no denying English football in the main used its platform to get a message across this weekend, including ahead of one of the biggest games in its calendar. But beyond the images at Wembley and an emotional Zinchenko briefly hugging and speaking with Mykolenko at Goodison Park, perhaps the weekend will also be remembered for the lack of action from the sport’s governing body and the lack of words from the club that were recently crowned world champions.

FIFA took all weekend to respond to an immensely brave and selfless (given the circumstances), unified stance from Poland, the Czech Republic and Sweden – who are all refusing to play Russia in upcoming World Cup qualifiers – and it then took the Polish and Swedish FA mere moments to voice their dissatisfaction with the response. Russia has been ordered by FIFA to play under the guise of the Football Union of Russia (“ouch”), in neutral territory, and without the use of their flag or anthem.