FIFA warned court of World Cup chaotic harm if Russia team played
Letting Russia try to qualify for the World Cup risked
doing irreparable and chaotic harm to the competition, FIFA successfully
argued at sport's highest court.
The legal debate between FIFA and Russia's
soccer federation was published Tuesday by the Court of Arbitration for Sport,
explaining why its judge denied an urgent Russian request to freeze a ban that
excluded its teams from the men's and women's World Cups.
The interim ruling in Russia's appeal on March 18 pending a full
appeal hearing likely due at CAS in the weeks ahead -- ensured the men's team
could not play Poland six days later in the World Cup qualifying
playoff. Poland was given a bye and advanced to the tournament in Qatar by
beating Sweden in the playoff final.
Poland, Sweden and the Czech Republic which lost to Sweden had all
stated they would refuse to play Russia in light of the country's war on
Ukraine.
That three-nation boycott of Russia weighed heavily on the urgent
CAS ruling, which sided with FIFA's stated need to guarantee the smooth running
of its flagship competition.
Though FIFA competition
rules typically punish federations whose teams refuse to play scheduled games,
soccer's world body agreed with Poland, Sweden and the Czechs.
Those decisions are both fully understandable and cannot be
criticized from either a legal or moral point of view, FIFA lawyers said in a
submission to the court.
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