LONDON – Following is a list of national football associations that have announced they will not play soccer matches against Russia, in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Reuters reported.
ENGLISH FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION
“Out of solidarity with Ukraine and to wholeheartedly condemn the atrocities being committed by the Russian leadership … we won’t play against Russia in any international fixtures for the foreseeable future,” England’s FA said.
“This includes any potential match at any level of senior, age group or para football.”
UNITED STATES SOCCER FEDERATION
“The U.S. Soccer Federation stands united with the people of Ukraine and is unequivocal in our denunciation of the heinous and inhumane invasion by Russia.
“We will neither tarnish our global game, nor dishonor Ukraine, by taking the same field as Russia, no matter the level of competition or circumstance, until freedom and peace have been restored.”
POLISH FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION
“In light of the escalation of the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine, the Polish national team is not going to play a match against Russian Republic,” Poland’s Football Association chief Cezary Kulesza wrote on Twitter.
“This is the only right decision.”
SWEDISH FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION
“The illegal and deeply unjust invasion of Ukraine currently makes all football exchanges with Russia impossible,” the Swedish FA said.
“We therefore urge FIFA to decide that the playoff matches in March in which Russia participates will be canceled. But regardless of what FIFA chooses to do, we will not play against Russia in March.”
CZECH FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION
“The FA executive committee approved unanimously the decision that the Czech national team will under no circumstances play the possible game against Russia’s team in the 2022 World Cup qualification,” the Czech FA said.
FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION OF IRELAND
“The FAI has offered its full and unequivocal support to Ukraine’s FA and confirmed that no Irish team will play against Russia at any level until further notice,” Football Association of Ireland said on Twitter.
IRISH FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION
“The Irish FA convened an extraordinary meeting of its board and confirmed Northern Ireland will not compete in any fixtures for its international teams or those affiliated at club level, should the situation arise, against Russian teams for the foreseeable future,” the Irish FA said.
“This includes the home UEFA Under-21 Euro qualifier scheduled for March 29.”
SCOTTISH FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION
“We remain in dialog with UEFA and FIFA regarding our men’s FIFA World Cup play-off and women’s World Cup qualifier and have offered to support our Ukrainian colleagues’ preparations as best we can,” Scotland’s FA said.
“Should the current circumstances continue, we will not sanction the nomination of a team to participate in our scheduled UEFA Regions Cup fixture against Russia, due to be played in August.”
