What if everyone refused to play against them though?
Would effectively mean you may as well cancel the competition now and hand them the trophy by default.
Or you go with the majority and don’t let them partecipate. Put Poland though and be done with it. Only backlash would be from Russia. Only option is arbitration for sport,
FIFA probably worried that a few more skeletons in the cupboard regarding the award of the 2018 World Cup will come to light if they expel Russia altogether.
Show some balls FIFA. Expel them now and f*** the consequences.
FIFA will be aware at some point soon, they should already but hey ho, that if they gave Russia a bye against Poland, they won't have a competition full stop. I suspect they are holding out for the situation to improve before the game is scheduled to be played. It is what they do.
Russia should be kicked out as should any of their sides in European competitions. Eurovision have led the way by kicking them out of this years competition but once again the football authorities sit around twiddling their thumbs.
That's rewarding them not punishing them.
Understand where your coming from and totally agree footballs governing bodies dragging their heels.
At least they have finally just kicked Russia & their clubs out of all competitions.
I wonder whether Poland will get a free pass into the final qualifying round or they will replace Russia with another team. And if they do replace them, how do they decide which team?
Slovakia finished third in the qualifying group behind Russia so may be the obvious choice... however if you void all of the results against Russia, then Slovakia drop below Slovenia. So maybe they'll move forward with Slovenia instead.
Or they could pull the next best team from Nations League standings as they did with Czech Rep and Austria... that would be Hungary.
Given all of that, the options I see in order of being most likely:
1) Poland advance automatically 2) Slovenia enter qualifying round 3) Slovakia enter qualifying round 4) Hungary enter qualifying round
I wonder whether Poland will get a free pass into the final qualifying round or they will replace Russia with another team. And if they do replace them, how do they decide which team?
Slovakia finished third in the qualifying group behind Russia so may be the obvious choice... however if you void all of the results against Russia, then Slovakia drop below Slovenia. So maybe they'll move forward with Slovenia instead.
Or they could pull the next best team from Nations League standings as they did with Czech Rep and Austria... that would be Hungary.
Given all of that, the options I see in order of being most likely:
1) Poland advance automatically 2) Slovenia enter qualifying round 3) Slovakia enter qualifying round 4) Hungary enter qualifying round
The Yugoslavia/Denmark situation in 1992, I think Denmark were next in the group so they may lean towards Slovakia coming in.
I wonder whether Poland will get a free pass into the final qualifying round or they will replace Russia with another team. And if they do replace them, how do they decide which team?
Slovakia finished third in the qualifying group behind Russia so may be the obvious choice... however if you void all of the results against Russia, then Slovakia drop below Slovenia. So maybe they'll move forward with Slovenia instead.
Or they could pull the next best team from Nations League standings as they did with Czech Rep and Austria... that would be Hungary.
Given all of that, the options I see in order of being most likely:
1) Poland advance automatically 2) Slovenia enter qualifying round 3) Slovakia enter qualifying round 4) Hungary enter qualifying round
At this point i'd guess they just put Poland into the final qualifier.
I think FIFA have a precedence for this from 1992 and they should stick to it. There will also inevitably be TV deals that need to be honoured, Slovakia should take the place imo
Poland have told FIFA they will boycott the match with Russia.
Sweden have also said they would not play Russia (regardless of venue) should they beat Czech Republic. The Swedish FA have asked FIFA to take action and cancel matches involving Russia
Surely Russia will have to be kicked out. They can't be rewarded by going to the world cup because other countries boycotted their qualifiers.
At this rate they could get byes all the way to the World Cup final unless banned.
Final rounds of qualifying for most confederations will be taking place later this month ahead of the groups being drawn in April...
Below is my personal round up of each confederation.....
AFC qualifying: final group games to be played March 24 and March 29; top two from each group will qualify with third placed teams will contest a single leg play-off in June with the winner advancing to inter-confed play-off against CONMEBOL. (Iran and South Korea already qualified.)
~Group A: 1) Iran 22pts (Q) 2) South Korea 20pts (Q) - 3) UAE 9pts (Iraq (A), South Korea (H)) - 4) Lebanon 6pts (Syria (H), Iran (A)) 5) Iraq 5pts (UAE (H), Syria (A)) Syria already eliminated.
~Group B: 1) Saudi Arabia 19pts (China (A), Australia (H)) 2) Japan 18pts (Australia (A), Vietnam (H)) - 3) Australia 15pts (Japan (H), Saudi Arabia (A)) - Oman, China & Vietnam already eliminated.
GAMES TO WATCH: Iraq v UAE, Australia v Japan, Saudi Arabia v Australia
CONCACAF qualifying: final group games played March 24, March 27 and March 30; top three qualify with 4th place entering inter-confed play-off against OFC.
1) Canada 25pts (Costa Rica (A), Jamaica (H), Panama (A)) 2) Mexico 21pts (USA (H), Honduras (A), El Salvador (H)) 3) USA 21pts (Mexico (A), Panama (H), Costa Rica (A)) - 4) Panama 17pts (Honduras (H), USA (A), Canada (H)) - 5) Costa Rica 16pts (Canada (H), El Salvador (A), USA (H)) 6) El Salvador 9pts (Jamaica (A), Costa Rica (H), Mexico (A)) Jamaica & Honduras already eliminated.
GAMES TO WATCH: Mexico v USA, USA v Panama, Panama v Canada
CONMEBOL qualifying: final group games played March 24 and March 29; top four qualify with 5th place entering inter-confed play-off against AFC. (Brazil and Argentina already qualified.)
1) Brazil 39pts (Q) 2) Argentina 35pts (Q) 3) Ecuador 25pts (Paraguay (A), Argentina (H)) 4) Uruguay 22pts (Peru (H), Chile (A) - 5) Peru 21pts (Uruguay (A), Paraguay (H) - 6) Chile 19pts (Brazil (A), Uruguay (H)) 7) Colombia 17pts (Bolivia (H), Venezuela (A) 8) Bolivia 15pts (Colombia (A), Brazil (H) Paraguay and Venezuela already eliminated.
OFC qualifying: qualifying yet to begin after originally being postponed indefinitely due to pandemic; two groups of four hosted in Qatar will begin 17 March and end March 24 with top two from each qualifying for a knockout phase to be played March 27 and March 30 with the overall winner entering inter-confed play-off against CONCACAF.
UEFA qualifying: single legged ties to be played March 24 (semi finals) and March 29 (finals); three places to be contested between 12 teams. Status of Poland v TBD and Scotland v Ukraine is undecided as of right now.
1) Wales OR Austria v Scotland OR Ukraine 2) TBD OR Poland v Sweden OR Czech Republic 3) Portugal OR Turkey v Italy OR North Macedonia
GAMES TO WATCH: Wales v Austria, Scotland v Ukraine, Portugal v Turkey and all three qualifying finals.
OFC qualifying: qualifying yet to begin after originally being postponed indefinitely due to pandemic; two groups of four hosted in Qatar will begin 17 March and end March 24 with top two from each qualifying for a knockout phase to be played March 27 and March 30 with the overall winner entering inter-confed play-off against CONCACAF.
Final rounds of qualifying for most confederations will be taking place later this month ahead of the groups being drawn in April...
Below is my personal round up of each confederation.....
AFC qualifying: final group games to be played March 24 and March 29; top two from each group will qualify with third placed teams will contest a single leg play-off in June with the winner advancing to inter-confed play-off against CONMEBOL. (Iran and South Korea already qualified.)
~Group A: 1) Iran 22pts (Q) 2) South Korea 20pts (Q) - 3) UAE 9pts (Iraq (A), South Korea (H)) - 4) Lebanon 6pts (Syria (H), Iran (A)) 5) Iraq 5pts (UAE (H), Syria (A)) Syria already eliminated.
~Group B: 1) Saudi Arabia 19pts (China (A), Australia (H)) 2) Japan 18pts (Australia (A), Vietnam (H)) - 3) Australia 15pts (Japan (H), Saudi Arabia (A)) - Oman, China & Vietnam already eliminated.
GAMES TO WATCH: Iraq v UAE, Australia v Japan, Saudi Arabia v Australia
CONCACAF qualifying: final group games played March 24, March 27 and March 30; top three qualify with 4th place entering inter-confed play-off against OFC.
1) Canada 25pts (Costa Rica (A), Jamaica (H), Panama (A)) 2) Mexico 21pts (USA (H), Honduras (A), El Salvador (H)) 3) USA 21pts (Mexico (A), Panama (H), Costa Rica (A)) - 4) Panama 17pts (Honduras (H), USA (A), Canada (H)) - 5) Costa Rica 16pts (Canada (H), El Salvador (A), USA (H)) 6) El Salvador 9pts (Jamaica (A), Costa Rica (H), Mexico (A)) Jamaica & Honduras already eliminated.
GAMES TO WATCH: Mexico v USA, USA v Panama, Panama v Canada
CONMEBOL qualifying: final group games played March 24 and March 29; top four qualify with 5th place entering inter-confed play-off against AFC. (Brazil and Argentina already qualified.)
1) Brazil 39pts (Q) 2) Argentina 35pts (Q) 3) Ecuador 25pts (Paraguay (A), Argentina (H)) 4) Uruguay 22pts (Peru (H), Chile (A) - 5) Peru 21pts (Uruguay (A), Paraguay (H) - 6) Chile 19pts (Brazil (A), Uruguay (H)) 7) Colombia 17pts (Bolivia (H), Venezuela (A) 8) Bolivia 15pts (Colombia (A), Brazil (H) Paraguay and Venezuela already eliminated.
OFC qualifying: qualifying yet to begin after originally being postponed indefinitely due to pandemic; two groups of four hosted in Qatar will begin 17 March and end March 24 with top two from each qualifying for a knockout phase to be played March 27 and March 30 with the overall winner entering inter-confed play-off against CONCACAF.
UEFA qualifying: single legged ties to be played March 24 (semi finals) and March 29 (finals); three places to be contested between 12 teams. Status of Poland v TBD and Scotland v Ukraine is undecided as of right now.
1) Wales OR Austria v Scotland OR Ukraine 2) TBD OR Poland v Sweden OR Czech Republic 3) Portugal OR Turkey v Italy OR North Macedonia
GAMES TO WATCH: Wales v Austria, Scotland v Ukraine, Portugal v Turkey and all three qualifying finals.
OFC qualifying: qualifying yet to begin after originally being postponed indefinitely due to pandemic; two groups of four hosted in Qatar will begin 17 March and end March 24 with top two from each qualifying for a knockout phase to be played March 27 and March 30 with the overall winner entering inter-confed play-off against CONCACAF.
~Group B: New Zealand New Caledonia Fiji Papua New Guinea
GAMES TO WATCH: the OFC qualifying final scheduled for March 30.
Its a shame the likes of American Samoa arent taking part this time around.
Always like to see if they can improve each time, especially after the Next Goal Wins documentary
Yes it's a shame. American Samoa and Samoa both withdrew before the draw was made.
There was originally set to be a "play-in" match between Tonga and Cook Islands. However, Tonga also withdrew later and so Cook Islands were automatically added into Group A.
Comments
Would effectively mean you may as well cancel the competition now and hand them the trophy by default.
Also more pressure locally for Putin, as millions won't be happy at this.
Poland replace Ukraine in the draw... Ukraine get a bye to the Final and face Czech Republic or Sweden
Its a win / win for Poland, as they'll get into the Final anyway
Understand where your coming from and totally agree footballs governing bodies dragging their heels.
At least they have finally just kicked Russia & their clubs out of all competitions.
Slovakia finished third in the qualifying group behind Russia so may be the obvious choice... however if you void all of the results against Russia, then Slovakia drop below Slovenia. So maybe they'll move forward with Slovenia instead.
Or they could pull the next best team from Nations League standings as they did with Czech Rep and Austria... that would be Hungary.
Given all of that, the options I see in order of being most likely:
1) Poland advance automatically
2) Slovenia enter qualifying round
3) Slovakia enter qualifying round
4) Hungary enter qualifying round
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/60606420
Below is my personal round up of each confederation.....
AFC qualifying:
final group games to be played March 24 and March 29; top two from each group will qualify with third placed teams will contest a single leg play-off in June with the winner advancing to inter-confed play-off against CONMEBOL.
(Iran and South Korea already qualified.)
~Group A:
1) Iran 22pts (Q)
2) South Korea 20pts (Q)
-
3) UAE 9pts (Iraq (A), South Korea (H))
-
4) Lebanon 6pts (Syria (H), Iran (A))
5) Iraq 5pts (UAE (H), Syria (A))
Syria already eliminated.
~Group B:
1) Saudi Arabia 19pts (China (A), Australia (H))
2) Japan 18pts (Australia (A), Vietnam (H))
-
3) Australia 15pts (Japan (H), Saudi Arabia (A))
-
Oman, China & Vietnam already eliminated.
GAMES TO WATCH: Iraq v UAE, Australia v Japan, Saudi Arabia v Australia
two legged ties to be played March 25 and March 29; the five winners will qualify .
1) Egypt v Senegal
2) Cameroon v Algeria
3) Ghana v Nigeria
4) DR Congo v Morocco
5) Mali v Tunisia
GAMES TO WATCH: as many second legs as you can.
final group games played March 24, March 27 and March 30; top three qualify with 4th place entering inter-confed play-off against OFC.
1) Canada 25pts (Costa Rica (A), Jamaica (H), Panama (A))
2) Mexico 21pts (USA (H), Honduras (A), El Salvador (H))
3) USA 21pts (Mexico (A), Panama (H), Costa Rica (A))
-
4) Panama 17pts (Honduras (H), USA (A), Canada (H))
-
5) Costa Rica 16pts (Canada (H), El Salvador (A), USA (H))
6) El Salvador 9pts (Jamaica (A), Costa Rica (H), Mexico (A))
Jamaica & Honduras already eliminated.
GAMES TO WATCH: Mexico v USA, USA v Panama, Panama v Canada
final group games played March 24 and March 29; top four qualify with 5th place entering inter-confed play-off against AFC.
(Brazil and Argentina already qualified.)
1) Brazil 39pts (Q)
2) Argentina 35pts (Q)
3) Ecuador 25pts (Paraguay (A), Argentina (H))
4) Uruguay 22pts (Peru (H), Chile (A)
-
5) Peru 21pts (Uruguay (A), Paraguay (H)
-
6) Chile 19pts (Brazil (A), Uruguay (H))
7) Colombia 17pts (Bolivia (H), Venezuela (A)
8) Bolivia 15pts (Colombia (A), Brazil (H)
Paraguay and Venezuela already eliminated.
GAMES TO WATCH: Uruguay v Peru, Chile v Uruguay
qualifying yet to begin after originally being postponed indefinitely due to pandemic; two groups of four hosted in Qatar will begin 17 March and end March 24 with top two from each qualifying for a knockout phase to be played March 27 and March 30 with the overall winner entering inter-confed play-off against CONCACAF.
~Group A:
Solomon Islands
Tahiti
Vanuatu
Cook Islands
~Group B:
New Zealand
New Caledonia
Fiji
Papua New Guinea
GAMES TO WATCH: the OFC qualifying final scheduled for March 30.
single legged ties to be played March 24 (semi finals) and March 29 (finals); three places to be contested between 12 teams. Status of Poland v TBD and Scotland v Ukraine is undecided as of right now.
1) Wales OR Austria v Scotland OR Ukraine
2) TBD OR Poland v Sweden OR Czech Republic
3) Portugal OR Turkey v Italy OR North Macedonia
GAMES TO WATCH: Wales v Austria, Scotland v Ukraine, Portugal v Turkey and all three qualifying finals.
Always like to see if they can improve each time, especially after the Next Goal Wins documentary
There was originally set to be a "play-in" match between Tonga and Cook Islands. However, Tonga also withdrew later and so Cook Islands were automatically added into Group A.