Sports
Ukraine: France supports banning Russia from World Cup
<h4><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The president of the French Football Federation Noël Le Graët has suggested that Russia should be thrown out of the men’s World Cup, following the invasion of Ukraine.</span></h4>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-19856" src="https://thedailypage.ng/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/qi4vs7g8_france-flag_625x300_24_October_20.webp" alt="" width="1230" height="757" /></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“That is my first impulse,” Le Graët said on Sunday when asked if Russia should be banned from the tournament.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“The world of sports, and football, in particular, cannot remain neutral. I will certainly not object to Russia’s exclusion.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Le Graët becomes the first major football official to make such a suggestion since the invasion last Thursday.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">World football body FIFA must make the decision and Le Graët, 80, is on the governing FIFA Council.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Russia hosted the last men’s FIFA World Cup in 2018.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Poland, Sweden, and the Czech Republic have all refused to play Russia next month in the play-offs for the tournament in Qatar in November and December.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">(dpa/NAN)</span></p>