Zbigniew Boniek, the former Poland international who is now chairman of the Polish Football Association, has called for Russia to be stripped of the 2018 World Cup because of its involvement in the Ukraine civil war.
Boniek, who played at Juventus alongside Uefa president Michel Platini, said he will make his position clear at Fifa’s Congress in Zurich next week.
His is the first association to call for such action by Fifa, though politicians including Britain’s new sports minister Tracey Crouch said last year that stripping the World Cup should be used as a sanction against Russia.
Boniek told Gazeta Wyborcza: “When Russia were awarded the 2018 World Cup it was an acceptable decision, but from today’s perspective hosting the World Cup in a country like Russia, which is waging a war openly and has raided another state, is a catastrophic mistake.
“My position on the World Cup in Russia is known to other association presidents and I will make it known again at the Fifa Congress in Zurich.
“The agreement between Fifa and Russia should have a clause so that if a country is at war or is acting contrary to international law, it can remove the World Cup.”
Boniek added that he plans to boycott the 2018 World Cup qualifying draw on July 25th in St Petersburg.
Withdrawal from presidency race
Meanwhile, Dutch FA president Michael van Praag has pulled out of the race for the Fifa presidency and has given his backing to Prince Ali bin Al Hussein.
The decision by Van Praag should concentrate opposition to current president Sepp Blatter, who is the favourite to win a fifth term in office.
Former Portugal international Luis Figo is still in the contest but he too may consider withdrawing in favour of Prince Ali, a Fifa vice-president from Jordan.
A statement from Van Praag’s office said: “After thorough deliberation and reflection with different involved parties and stakeholders, Michael van Praag decided to withdraw his candidacy to become the next Fifa president and to join forces with presidential candidate Prince Ali Al Hussein.”
Van Praag and Prince Ali will hold a news conference in Amsterdam on Thursday evening to give more details about his decision.
Last week the Dutch FA president was insistent he would stay in the contest to the end despite feelings at Uefa that the biggest challenge to Blatter would come from a single candidate.
Prince Ali, Van Praag and Figo had all been campaigning on a reformist platform. Earlier this month Prince Ali said he would not pull out of the election.
“I will continue the race until the end,” Prince Ali said then, adding he had received “supportive and positive responses” from the football federations he had visited and his manifesto had been greeted with a “warm welcome”.
