Amid the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, a claim has surfaced on social media platforms that Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened FIFA by saying “Russia will play FIFA World Cup in Qatar, or there won’t be WORLD CUP to talk about.”
A Facebook user shared the image with a caption saying, “#Putin; “FIFA must not enter into war politics, The National Football team of Russia will play FIFA World Cup in Qatar, or there won’t be WORLD CUP to talk about.”
The same message is also doing rounds on Twitter with the same claim.
The post surfaced in the backdrop of a joint statement by FIFA and UEFA that Russia will be expelled from all international football competitions.
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the viral claim and found it to be false.
On performing relevant keyword searches, we did not find any credible media report substantiating the claim made in the viral post. If Russian President Vladimir Putin had made any such statement, it would have been surely reported by the media, especially at a time when the Russia-Ukraine war is grabbing international headlines.
We found a report by Fox Sports published on March 4, 2022, on Russia’s appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the country’s expulsion from the 2022 World Cup. According to the report, the Russian Football Union had appealed to the CAS against the decision by FIFA and UEFA. The report did not carry any statement by Russian President Putin.
The same was reported by Spanish sports media outlet Marca.
Hence, with the above information, it can be concluded that the claim made in the viral post is false.
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