Roll back the years to 2018 and the World Cup before the one that has recently taken place in Qatar, and the event was being held in Russia, and Vladimir Putin, the country’s leader, was heavily involved at every turn. And now, fast forward to the present day, and World Cups appear like a distant memory for Russians.
In February 2022, Vladimir Putin, the Prime Minister of Russia, ordered the invasion of neighbouring Ukraine to begin. It was an unprovoked attack by Russia and Putin, and one that has been frowned upon by the vast majority of other countries around the world. And as a result, there have been consequences, some of them relating to sports, with the main one being that Russia’s national football team cannot compete in events such as the World Cup.
A lot was talked about before the World Cup about the potential limitations in Qatar. For example, it’s a dry country in terms of alcohol, and there are other activities that are prohibited, such as gambling. So, fans travelling into Qatar would have to refrain from heading back to their accommodation and spinning the reels of their favourite slots games online, for example. And betting on the football would have been frowned upon too. But how many would have predicted this time last year that a nation would be banned from competing in Qatar?
Russia has always been renowned for its love of sport, and of football especially. As the host nation, Russia made it to the quarter-finals in 2018, losing on penalties to eventual runners-up Croatia. So, they can more than hold their own on the world footballing stage, and the World Cup in Qatar would have been another potential step forward, where Russia could aim to go one better than the quarters. However, any progress has not ground to a halt. Indefinitely.
The political landscape and the current situation with Russia engaged in a war with Ukraine means that the men’s football team weren’t only prohibited from competing at the Qatar World Cup. At present, they can’t compete in any World Cups or any European Championships. And, they’re also limited in terms of the friendlies they can play because there aren’t too many nations who feel it’s appropriate to share a pitch with them, which is totally understandable.
It’s currently unclear if the situation can change, how it can change or is this how it will be for good moving forward? Politics and football have clashed many times over the years, but there is the potential for Russian politics, in particular, to see the sporting world, and more specifically the footballing world, turn its back on Russia for good, which would mean the 2018 World Cup quarter-final appearance will be frozen in time. And whether it can ever be unthawed will again be down to politics, FIFA, and other governing bodies to decide.
