Ukraine wants to have the World Cup playoff match against Scotland postponed at the end of March because of Russia’s invasion. As the world governing body FIFA said in response to a dpa inquiry, the Ukrainian federation has submitted a request to that effect. FIFA is in regular contact with the European Football Union and the Scottish FA to find an appropriate solution, it said.

Ukraine is scheduled to play Scotland in Glasgow on March 24. The winner will then face Austria or Wales for a place at the World Cup in Qatar later this year. The soccer championship in Ukraine has been suspended since Russia invaded the country just over a week ago.

On Wednesday, Ukrainian captain Andriy Yarmolenko urged his Russian colleagues to take a stand against the war, saying, “I have a question for the Russian national players: guys, why are you sitting there like idiots and not saying anything? In my country they kill people, women, mothers, our children. But you say nothing, you comment nothing.”

“It’s time to act”

Russia has been banned from all competitions due to the military incursion and will therefore not take part in the World Cup playoffs. The 2018 World Cup hosts were also scheduled to play Poland on March 24. However, the potential opponents of the Russians on their way to Qatar had already positioned themselves with clear words before the World Cup exclusion: “Enough words, it’s time to act,” Poland’s federation president Cezary Kulesza announced. “Due to Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, Poland does not plan to compete against the Russian team. This is the only right decision.”

Sweden and the Czech Republic also announced a boycott of the possible match against the Russians. Initially, FIFA had campaigned for the matches, each of which would have been home to Russia, to be played on neutral ground. The other federations had also rejected this option.

This was followed on Monday by the reaction of UEFA and FIFA: “Following the initial decisions of the FIFA Council and the UEFA Executive Committee, which provided for additional measures, FIFA and UEFA have jointly decided today that all Russian teams will be excluded from participation in FIFA and UEFA competitions until further notice. This applies to both national and club teams,” both FIFA and UEFA said in a statement, expressing soccer’s full solidarity with the “people affected in Ukraine.” The federations avoided the word “war” in the brief statement.