Russia thrown out of football as Spartak Moscow brand ban 'extremely upsetting' – The Warm-Up
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Updated 01/03/2022 at 08:21 GMT
Russia will not appear at the men’s 2022 World Cup or women’s Euro 2022 after FIFA and UEFA imposed joint punishments in light of the invasion of Ukraine. Meanwhile, Spartak Moscow labelled the decision to kick them out of the Europa League as “upsetting” as they joined the calls for peace. In much less significant news, Leeds United have a new manager and Gianluigi Buffon is never going to retire
Spartak Moscow
Image credit: Getty Images
TUESDAY’S BIG STORIES
FIFA and UEFA unite to ban Russia
Barely 24 hours after FIFA were roundly criticised for the initial repercussions imposed on Russia – tweaking their name to the Football Union of Russia, banning the national flag and anthem – world football’s governing body joined forces with UEFA to deliver a much more damning punishment.
No men’s World Cup. No Women’s Euro 2022. No more Europa League for Spartak Moscow. No more Gazprom sponsorship.
“Football is fully united here and in full solidarity with all the people affected in Ukraine,” read the joint statement from FIFA and UEFA. “Both presidents hope that the situation in Ukraine will improve significantly and rapidly so that football can again be a vector for unity and peace amongst people.”
It was a major shift from FIFA – an organisation that has given us Sepp Blatter's controversy-strewn reign and a problematic Qatar World Cup – and further illustrated the immense gravity of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Remember Russia only hosted the World Cup three and a half years ago, with FIFA president Gianni Infantino rubbing shoulders with Vladimir Putin.
Of course, the catalyst for the decision was a spree of national football associations declaring they would not play Russia while the war continued. The uneasy scenario of Russia winning the World Cup without kicking a ball, each opponent refusing to turn up, lurked in the background. And when the IOC called on sporting bodies to ban Russian teams, the path was clear for football to lay down its judgement.
The announcement found praise on social media, both inside sport and out. Gary Lineker branded it the "right call" while former Labour Party spin doctor Alastair Campbell said it was "desperately sad for footballers involved, and genuine fans in Russia, but the decision is right".
In terms of the impact on the pitch, RB Leipzig will get a bye into the Europa League quarter-finals following Spartak's forced exit. It also appears Poland will get a bye in their World Cup play-off semi-final, although that hasn’t been confirmed. The two other possible options would see Russia replaced by either Slovakia or Norway – the former finishing third in Russia’s qualifying group, the latter earning the most points out of all the third-place teams in UEFA qualification.
The news was not well received by Spartak, who said that while they were hoping "for a speedy achievement of peace that everybody needs" they found the decision to eject them from Europe "upsetting".
"The recent decision taken by UEFA and FIFA although expected, is extremely upsetting. Unfortunately, the efforts that our club made in the Europa League have been nullified for reasons that are far outside the remit of sports," the club said in a statement.
"Spartak has millions of fans not only in Russia, but all over the world. Our successes and failures bring people from dozens of different countries together. We believe that sport, even in the most difficult times, should aim to build bridges, and not burn them. We are forced to obey a decision that we do not agree with.
"For now, we shall focus on domestic competitions, and are looking forward to a speedy achievement of peace that everybody needs."
How can Marsch ever match Bielsa at Leeds?
It was ingrained in British culture: you either supported Leeds United or you hated them. We’re not entirely sure why this collective disgust continued deep into the 2010s, given it stemmed from Don Revie's rough team and hooliganism of the 1960s and 70s, but nevertheless it persisted.
Marcelo Bielsa changed a lot of that. The craziest man joined the craziest of clubs... and it worked. Much of the mysterious hatred that had enveloped Leeds was replaced with admiration. If they weren’t already your first team, there was a good chance they were your second. And if not, you would definitely stay up until they had been on Match of the Day before going to bed.
A cocktail of beauty and recklessness, persisting across 90 minutes regardless of whether it was 3-2 or 0-6, which first lit up the Championship and then the Premier League. Each year finished with the same murmurs. “Bielsa will walk.” He never did. Plonked on his bucket at 3pm on a Saturday, traipsing the aisles of Morrisons in his tracksuit in the evening, Bielsa was an icon of the city. He was so much more than just a football manager to the people of Leeds.
It’s hard to argue that results have been brilliant this season. Hell, they’ve been pretty awful. But heavy defeats to Everton, Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham were not enough to end one of the few romantic storylines still being written in football's biggest league.
One of the most revered managers in football dropped in on a second division club and stuck around when the first season didn’t quite go to plan. He rescued Leeds from their purgatory – marooned in the Championship, seemingly unable to go up or down – taking them back to the Premier League and delivering a memorable first season in the top-flight. He deserved a chance to finish this tale. Maybe he would have been off in the summer, but that doesn’t excuse his premature exit.
If we are learning anything right now, it’s that football doesn’t really matter. So when someone comes along that manages to transcend a sport and give it meaning, we need to cling to them. Bielsa had galvanised a city, helping banish the club’s reputation of old.
Jesse Marsch could turn into a terrific appointment. He really should keep Leeds up, given Norwich, Watford, Brentford and Burnley all have worse squads, but it will be a hollow survival. This was Bielsa’s team and he deserved a shot to fulfil one more impossible dream. Our love for Leeds is gone.
IN OTHER NEWS
Each time you think about giving up on your sporting dream, just remember that Gianluigi Buffon will be playing beyond his 46th birthday.
IN THE CHANNELS
We can't help but think that penalty shootouts could do with spicing up a bit, given professional footballers are proving that they will score basically every single time. Fortunately, it looks like some people agree *gleefully imagines Roy Hodgson striding up to the penalty spot*
Then the idea got even better:
IN THE CHANNELS II
Proof we are in a simulation comes from the Madejski Stadium, where everyone is experiencing the same glitch:
COMING UP
The Warm-Up doesn’t like to reveal its allegiances… unless your childhood team Peterborough United are in action against Manchester City. They are bottom of the Championship, have just changed their manager and can’t defend to save their lives, so expect a cricket score.
Marcus Foley will be here to bring you all the gossip from that cricket score: Peterborough 12-0 Man City.
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