FIFA has turned down a request from Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky to offer a message of global peace ahead of the World Cup final on Sunday.
France and Argentina will meet in 2022 final in Qatar’s Lusail Stadium, which will be seen by millions of people across the globe.
In February 2022, Russia began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, resulting in tens of thousands of fatalities and the worsening of an ongoing refugee crisis.
Since the invasion, Zelensky has leveraged global events to rally support for Ukraine and keep the attention on the fight against their nation. According to CNN, his administration offered to appear on a video to supporters in the Lusail Stadium before kickoff but was “surprised” by the adverse reaction.
According to the article, discussions between Ukraine and the sport’s regulatory organisation are still ongoing.
FIFA has taken extraordinary measures to exclude political components from the 2022 World Cup, even though the event itself is a political matter due to its location.
Despite their questionable human rights record, there have been a lot of backlashes directed at FIFA for allowing Qatar to host the World Cup, notably regarding their treatment of migrant workers and the LGBTQ+ population.
Several European countries, including England, planned to wear a ‘OneLove’ captain’s armband displaying a rainbow love heart in the Middle East to convey a message of unity, diversity, and inclusiveness. However, that plan was abandoned only hours before the Three Lions’ first game amid concerns about players receiving a yellow card for wearing the armband.
Despite allowing them to host the event in 2018, FIFA and UEFA barred all Russian football clubs and national teams from participating in their tournaments in February because Russia invaded Ukraine.
