PARIS: Russia has been expelled from the World Cup after being suspended from all international competitions “until further notice,” FIFA and UEFA announced in a joint statement on Monday, while European football’s governing body also ended its partnership with Russian energy giant Gazprom.
The men’s team had been due to play in qualifying play-offs in March for the World Cup in Qatar later this year, while its women’s side had qualified for the European Championship in England, to be held in July.
The announcement also affects Russian clubs involved in European competitions.
“FIFA and UEFA have today decided together that all Russian teams, whether national representative teams or club teams, shall be suspended from participation in both FIFA and UEFA competitions until further notice,” read the joint statement from the governing bodies of world and European football.
The Russian men’s team were scheduled to play Poland in a World Cup qualifying play-off semifinal on March 24, and might have faced Sweden or the Czech Republic on March 29 for a place at the finals in Qatar later this year.
But their three potential opponents insisted they would boycott the matches.
FIFA announced on Sunday that Russian teams would be allowed to continue playing under the name of the Football Union of Russia, playing home games on neutral territory and behind closed doors, and with the Russian flag and anthem banned.
But those measures were dismissed as “totally unacceptable” by Polish FA president Cezary Kulesza, who added that Poland would not play their World Cup play-off with Russia, “no matter what the name of the team is.”
FIFA changed its approach on Monday, kicking Russia out of the sport’s showpiece tournament.
“Football is fully united here and in full solidarity with all the people affected in Ukraine,” the statement added.
“Both presidents (Gianni Infantino and Aleksander Ceferin) hope that the situation in Ukraine will improve significantly and rapidly so that football can again be a vector for unity and peace among people.”
The Russian Football Union denounced the suspension, saying the move was “discriminatory.”
“It has an obvious discriminatory character and harms a huge number of athletes, coaches, employees of clubs and national teams, and most importantly, millions of Russian and foreign fans, whose interests international sports organizations must protect in the first place,” it said in a statement.
The decisions come after a widespread outcry, with global players’ union FIFPro on Monday releasing a statement saying it “strongly disagreed” with the initial measures taken by FIFA.
FIFPro criticized FIFA for not imposing stronger sanctions right away and said that participation of Russian teams in international competitions was now “not a possibility.”
With other nations also coming out to say they would not play against Russia, FIFA and UEFA were left with little choice.
FIFA had to act quickly before the upcoming World Cup play-offs and with the draw for the tournament due to be held in Doha on April 1.
Russia were supposed to play the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland in their group at the women’s Euro in England in July.
“This is a powerful message from the international sporting community that we will not tolerate Putin’s abhorrent assaults on freedom and liberty. Well done FIFA and UEFA,” tweeted UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Meanwhile Spartak Moscow were scheduled to play RB Leipzig of Germany in the last 16 of the Europa League.
They were the only remaining Russian team in European competition this season.
“Even though we are of the opinion that sport fundamentally unites, we understand and support this decision,” said Leipzig, who, UEFA told AFP, have received a bye into the quarter-finals.
FIFA, though, did not confirm if Poland would qualify directly for the final of their World Cup play-off path.
UEFA said it had ended its partnership with Gazprom, one of its main sponsors, “effective immediately.”
Gazprom has been a key sponsor of UEFA since 2012 and was believed to have been paying around 40 million euros ($45 million) a year in a deal due to run until 2024.
Russian football federation president Alexander Dyukov, boss of Gazprom Neft, the petrol branch of Gazprom, is a member of the UEFA’s executive committee.
German club Schalke 04 also announced Monday it had prematurely ended its shirt sponsorship deal with Gazprom.
UEFA last week stripped the Russian city of Saint Petersburg of this season’s Champions League final, moving the game on May 28 to Paris.
Russia expelled from World Cup as FIFA and UEFA hand down bans
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Russia expelled from World Cup as FIFA and UEFA hand down bans
- The men’s team had been due to play in qualifying play-offs in March for the World Cup in Qatar later this year
Lebanese football star awakes from coma she went into after Israeli airstrike
- Celine Haidar’s father says she ‘wants to go back to football once her medical situation allows her’
- Coach Samer Barbary tells Arab News: ‘When I asked if she still wants to play football, she pressed on my hand and moved her right leg’
BEIRUT: Lebanese football star Celine Haidar has awakened from a coma nearly two months after suffering a critical head injury during an Israeli airstrike, her father and coach told Arab News on Wednesday.
“By the grace of Allah she has awakened from coma but she remains in ICU as she cannot speak and still requires a ventilator to help her breathe properly,” said Abbas Haidar, the father of the 19-year-old international footballer.
In mid-November, Haidar, who is a youth international and captains her club, Beirut Football Academy, was injured while fleeing her home in Al-Chiyyah in Beirut’s southern suburbs after an Israeli warning of an imminent attack on their building.
Speaking from Saint Georges Hospital where his daughter is being treated, her father confirmed that Celine awoke a few days ago (without giving a date), saying “she still cannot talk easily, and remains under extensive treatment.”
He expressed his joy “because she has recognized us (her family members),” adding that whenever they want to chat with her, she writes down her replies.
Her coach at BFA, Samer Barbary, revealed to Arab News that he visited her two days ago. “She is still on a ventilator, however, she extended her right arm to shake hands with me … when I asked if she still wants to play football, she pressed on my hand and moved her right leg in an obvious sign of wanting to do so,” Barbary said.
Abbas explained that his daughter’s situation still requires further medical assessment and follow-up. He hopes that she improves soon and starts rehabilitation.
“She still realizes that she is a footballer and wants to go back to football once her medical situation allows her.”
Meanwhile, her coach said: “Her medical treatment and follow-up still requires time and effort … and based on how her medical situation progresses, we hope that she could be back on the green pitch.”
Barbary told Arab News previously: “She is Lebanon’s Sergio Busquets and has got remarkable skills in her position as a central midfielder.”
Her father said in November that their neighborhood had been subject to ongoing threats and bombardment before the family moved to a safer location outside Beirut.
“Celine is a very vibrant and sociable person. She found us the house in Baakline.”
Haidar stayed in Baakline for two days and returned to Al-Chiyyah to attend school and her football training. Her father was notified by phone that she had been injured and admitted to hospital.
Rising star Haidar represented her country as a member of the under-19 women’s national team who won the 2022 West Asia Cup, hosted by Lebanon, and had been selected to play for the senior national team before her injury.
“Celine is one of the best football midfielders in Lebanon … she is consistent, stable and a leader. She played a major role in us winning the 2024 league unbeaten,” Barbary said.
Before joining BFA in 2021, she played for Safa Club and with them won the Lebanese National League.
PCB moves tri-series to Lahore and Karachi to indicate readiness for Champions Trophy
- Pakistan is scheduled to play tri-nation ODI series at home against South Africa, New Zealand in February
- Series moved from Multan due to advanced stage of preparations at Lahore and Karachi stadiums, says PCB
BENGALURU: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has relocated February’s tri-nation One-Day International (ODI) series with New Zealand and South Africa from Multan to Lahore and Karachi, two cities set to host the Champions Trophy later in the month.
The PCB said the move was due to the advanced stage of preparations at Lahore’s Qaddafi Stadium and Karachi’s National Stadium, which will host six of the 12 Champions Trophy group stage matches.
Lahore will also host one semifinal as well as the final provided India, who are playing all their matches in Dubai following an agreement that neither India nor Pakistan will visit each other’s countries for ICC tournament matches, do not qualify.
Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium will also host three matches of the eight-team tournament.
The PCB is upgrading the facilities at all three venues in the country as Pakistan prepares to host an ICC tournament for the first time since 1996, when they co-hosted the ODI World Cup.
The tri-series will be played from Feb. 8-14, while the Champions Trophy will kick off on Feb. 19 in Karachi, with defending champions Pakistan playing New Zealand.
Fakhar Zaman eyes international return as he prepares for DP World ILT20 start with Desert Vipers
- 100% he will play for Pakistan again, says 34-year-old top-order powerhouse
DUBAI: Pakistan top-order powerhouse Fakhar Zaman is getting ready for the DP World ILT20 with the Desert Vipers, but he believes he still has plenty to offer Pakistan.
The 34-year-old has not played for his country since the ICC T20 World Cup in June of 2024, but he told the Vipers Voices podcast he has not turned the page on his international career.
“Hundred percent I will play for Pakistan (again),” he said. “Actually, many people do not know about that, but after the T20 World Cup I got sick and because of the medical condition I was not fit, so I was not a part of the team.
“But now I recovered a 100 percent, and you will see me in the next international series which Pakistan plays.”
The next major white-ball tournament for Pakistan is the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, hosted by Pakistan, and it is an event that in 2017 saw Zaman announce himself on the world stage, with a match-winning 100 against India in the final at The Oval in London.
“My plan has been around the Champions Trophy (in 2025),” he said. “I did not play in the Australia tour or in the South Africa tour, so my whole plan was just to play in the Champions Trophy to make myself available and to be fully fit for the tournament.
“That was in the back of my mind, and I am thankful, and I am lucky to be fit right now. I started from the Champions Trophy 2017 and that went really well for me and now I am very excited for the next edition also.”
Incumbent Pakistan opener Saim Ayub was recently injured during Pakistan’s tour to South Africa, potentially opening up a spot for Zaman. But the Pakistani batter said he expected to stay with the Desert Vipers for the whole tournament while wishing for Ayub’s speedy recovery.
“I hope and I believe that he will recover quickly, and I was thinking yesterday to call Saim just to talk to him about this injury,” he said. “Believe me, he is such a great player that if he continues to play for the next four to five years, he will be at the top and he will be amongst the top three players in the world.”
Zaman was a top target for the Desert Vipers’ Director of Cricket Tom Moody for this year’s tournament in the UAE, with the Australia ICC Cricket World Cup winner calling the left-hander “a true match-winner.”
From Zaman’s perspective, the opportunity to link up with the Desert Vipers required little thought.
“There are many Pakistani players who have played for the Desert Vipers including Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Azam Khan and Mohammad Amir. And they talk really highly about this team, the environment, the management, the way they play the cricket and the way their mindset is,” he said.
“So, when I got the offer, without any discussion with anyone, I said ‘yes, I would love to play for this team.’
“I was really excited and, to be honest, I was supporting this team even before I was a part of this, so I am really excited to be here and I am very happy.”
Zaman has more than 5,000 international runs and over 7,000 runs in Twenty20 cricket, but although he is best known as an opener, he has batted from one to six for Pakistan in the shortest international format.
And although he wants to open, he is willing to slot in anywhere. “Of course, my preference is always to open for any team, like if I play in the T20 matches or 50-over games, but you know it also depends on the team requirement,” he said.
“In Pakistan we have three of the best players in the world in Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Saim Ayub, so sometimes I feel lucky to be in the team even if I am not able to make my place in the team as an opener.
“If the team has faith in me and they want me to bat at number four or five, so that totally makes sense, because for me the team is always first and I play wherever the team wants me to play, but I always prefer to open.”
Looking ahead to the DP World ILT20, Zaman said that while he was relishing playing with every single member of the Vipers squad, there was one player in particular that he could not wait to line up alongside.
“I know he does not know about it, but I am very excited to play with Sherfane Rutherford because he is one of the best cricketers in the T20 format and I really enjoy seeing him batting,” he said.
“I am very excited to be part of this team, and I want to share the crease with him. He is one of the best players, so I am very excited to play with that guy.”
And as for the prospects for the team in the upcoming tournament, Zaman said he was confident the group would be successful.
“If you see our team, the team is very balanced,” he said. “We have a good mix of young players and experienced players. We have good players, and we have strength in both our bowling and batting.
“So, if we play as a team — and you know in cricket you need luck also —then hopefully, if luck favors us, you will see us in the finals.”
The Desert Vipers’ first match of the 2025 DP World ILT20 is on day two of the tournament, against the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders at Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
We will ‘do our best’ for Barcelona’s Saudi fans, says Raphinha ahead of Spanish Super Cup start in Jeddah
- Barcelona face Athletic Club in Wednesday’s first semifinal, with winners tackling either Real Madrid or Mallorca in the final at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah
JEDDAH: Raphinha says Barcelona are determined to repay local fans for their support by winning the Supercopa de Espana in Jeddah.
La Liga runners-up Barcelona and Copa del Rey winners Athletic Club will contest the first Supercopa semifinal on Wednesday at King Abdullah Sports City, with kickoff at 10 p.m. local time.
The winners will face either La Liga champions Real Madrid or Copa del Rey finalists Mallorca in Sunday’s final at the same stadium.
Barcelona have an enormous fanbase in Saudi Arabia, a country with a thriving football culture that has been the hosts of the Supercopa de Espana since 2020.
The Catalans are sure to enjoy the majority of the support in Jeddah on Wednesday evening and Raphinha wants to ensure their fans are treated to a spectacle.
Raphinha, 28, said: “I would like to thank them for the love. We know how difficult it is for fans to be able to go to Barcelona and watch one of our games there, so to be able to come here, play in a semifinal and (possibly) a final is great, it’s exciting. What we can do is appreciate the love and do our best to try and win two matches.”
Raphinha arrives in Jeddah as one of Barcelona’s standout players this season, scoring 17 goals and creating 10 assists in 25 matches in all competitions.
The team, however, enter the Supercopa in mixed form. Following a blistering start to the season, Barcelona have lost three of their last seven matches, including consecutive defeats in La Liga.
Barca’s pedigree in the Supercopa is unrivalled, though, having won a record 14 trophies. They last won the competition in Riyadh in 2023, and Raphinha believes success in Jeddah this week can provide a vital boost for the rest of the season.
“A title gives confidence to any team,” the Brazilian forward said. “We have to be ready to fight for everything. We have the opportunity to win the first title of the year. It will give us a lot of confidence.”
Barcelona manager Hansi Flick echoed Raphinha’s comments by insisting his players are raring to go and are fully focused on achieving more Supercopa success in Saudi Arabia.
Flick said: “I can feel with the team everyone is ready for this tournament. The semifinal against Athletic is a tough match and we focus on that and not think about the days after that, only focus on this match.
“Of course, when you win titles, it’s very good for the club, very good for the team, for every player and also for us coaches, because we all work hard and train hard.”
If Barcelona are to add to their 14 Supercopas, they will need to get past extremely tough opposition, starting with semifinal opponents Athletic Club.
The Catalans edged the Basque club 2-1 in their most recent meeting at the start of the Spanish Liga season, although Athletic enter the tie with the better overall form, going unbeaten in their last 15 matches in all competitions and winning 11.
Athletic have also won their last two Supercopa matches against Barca, claiming a 3-2 victory after extra time in the 2021 final, and a comprehensive 5-1 aggregate win in 2015 before the format was expanded to four teams.
Athletic captain Oscar De Marcos is aware of the task against Barcelona, but insists they are ready for the challenge.
“We’re looking forward to being in another semifinal,” he said. “We know we’re facing a very tough opponent, but whenever you’re close to a title you have the hope of being able to win it. We need a great game to be able to win it.”
Athletic also have stellar Supercopa experience in the dugout. Manager Ernesto Valverde has been in charge for two of Athletic’s three Supercopa triumphs, while he is familiar with the tournament in Saudi having led Barcelona in the inaugural four-team tournament in 2020.
“We are excited about the Supercopa,” the Spanish coach said. “Our intention is to make the most of our chances. We are not favorites from the start, but we have to play like it. We will give everything to win it because we have travelled here for a reason.”
On the fans in Saudi Arabia, Valverde added: “There are more Barcelona fans than our own. That’s for sure. There will be a good atmosphere and we hope people can enjoy a good match. I know it well because it was my last match with Barcelona.”
The Supercopa de Espana is being staged in Saudi Arabia as part of a long-term partnership with the Royal Spanish Football Federation, which will keep the competition in the Kingdom until 2029.
Football chiefs set dates, name the eight stadiums for 2027 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia
RIYADH: Football chiefs on Tuesday set the dates and named the stadiums for the 2027 Asian Cup tournament in Saudi Arabia — a dress rehearsal for the jewel in the crown, the 2034 World Cup.
Matches will take place from Jan. 7 to Feb. 5, 2027, in Riyadh, Jeddah and Alkhobar.
Five stadiums in the capital will host Asia’s football elite: King Fahd Sports City Stadium, King Saud University Stadium, Imam Mohammed Ibn Saud University Stadium, Kingdom Arena and Al Shabab Stadium.
The two Jeddah venues will be King Abdullah Sports City and Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City, and a new stadium will be built in Alkhobar.
“Confirming the dates and selecting the stadiums ... is a strategic milestone in our journey to host the tournament,” said Yasser Al-Misehal, president of Saudi Arabian Football Federation.
“We are confident that we will deliver a comprehensive sporting experience that extends beyond the matches themselves, creating a unique and integrated event that showcases Saudi Arabia’s status as a hub for major international sporting events.”
