Paco Posted February 24, 2022 Share Posted February 24, 2022 Is there a chance the game is delayed, in the hope things have settled at least to the degree that a game of football doesn’t seem like a silly idea? Isn’t ideal for anyone involved but then telling Ukraine they’re out of the World Cup because they got invaded probably comes under ‘sub-optimal’ as well. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigkillie Posted February 24, 2022 Share Posted February 24, 2022 I don't think the game can be delayed in any way, it's not practically possible. I would be extremely surprised if UEFA threw Ukraine out, so any decision not to play would come from them rather than them being told they were out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forameus Posted February 24, 2022 Share Posted February 24, 2022 16 minutes ago, Paco said: Is there a chance the game is delayed, in the hope things have settled at least to the degree that a game of football doesn’t seem like a silly idea? Isn’t ideal for anyone involved but then telling Ukraine they’re out of the World Cup because they got invaded probably comes under ‘sub-optimal’ as well. Don't think a delay is really possible. Not like it's one game in complete isolation - you'd then have to reschedule Wales/Austria. There's other aspects that could lead to a lot of pissing and moaning if you do. All paling in comparison to, you know, an actual War, but still. You're right about the last part though. I don't think there's necessarily a good option to take, and it's the biggest and probably most difficult decision UEFA will have had to make. What do you do about Russia? Do you just say Ukraine can't play? Do you tell them it's up to them, and if they can't field a team tough titties? Do we get the situation where a full house at Hampden is sitting there watching a team of absolute jobbers against us making a mockery of the situation? Personally, I think the most likely is UEFA telling them the game is going ahead as planned, unless Ukraine tell them otherwise. Then ultimately, I think the game happens, but it ends up being a bit of a farce. I think the more interesting part - discounting that we're actually playing Ukraine - is what happens with Russia. They're already competing despite a Worldwide doping ban after all. Much more minor than actually invading another country, but I just can't realistically see them chucking them. Would be fully supportive of it though. In terms of precedent, how close are we to the situation that saw Denmark enter and eventually win Euro 92? From memory - and I could be well wrong - Yugoslavia were banned due to the wars breaking out in the Balkans. Could we see Russia get the same? Could they end up playing, winning, qualifying, and then get chucked out if all this gets worse? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigkillie Posted February 24, 2022 Share Posted February 24, 2022 I don't see how the game would be a farce. Ukraine might be a bit weakened but they have several very good players playing outside of Ukraine and it's still going to be a pretty competitive match. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paco Posted February 24, 2022 Share Posted February 24, 2022 I don't think the game can be delayed in any way, it's not practically possible. I would be extremely surprised if UEFA threw Ukraine out, so any decision not to play would come from them rather than them being told they were out.Switching the first two Nations League fixtures in June for Scotland/Ukraine/Austria/Wales to March, and allocating those June dates to the play-offs is possible. Would require a lot of agreement across a number of countries, but it’s doable at least on paper. It’s obviously exceptionally unlikely Ukraine will be denied the chance to play if they want to play of course. But an extension could give them time to be more competitive - they’ll still have a reasonable squad if they can’t access their domestic players (or, assuming they can leave the country, they’re not fit) but clearly it’s a big blow in sporting terms, losing access to a large chunk of their squad. They’d presumably appreciate the chance to regain that. And even if they’re able to pull together a squad for March, they may simply not want to because they have bigger things to worry about - if so, a delay should be investigated at the very least. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
invergowrie arab Posted February 24, 2022 Share Posted February 24, 2022 (edited) The Euro 92 situation was in response to sanctions being applied to the state of Yugoslavia by the UN for the actions of the Yugoslavian army in Bosnia-Herzegovina. In the absence of the UN applying sanctions to Ukraine or the crime of being invaded we can rule that scenario out. Russia are a permanent member of the UN security Council so Ukraine getting banned is still more likely than the UN putting sanctions on Russia. The worst case scenario for Russia is playing under a neutral flag. Edited February 24, 2022 by invergowrie arab 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigkillie Posted February 24, 2022 Share Posted February 24, 2022 17 minutes ago, Paco said: Switching the first two Nations League fixtures in June for Scotland/Ukraine/Austria/Wales to March, and allocating those June dates to the play-offs is possible. Would require a lot of agreement across a number of countries, but it’s doable at least on paper. Scotland play Ukraine in the first two Nations League fixtures. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigkillie Posted February 24, 2022 Share Posted February 24, 2022 17 minutes ago, invergowrie arab said: The worst case scenario for Russia is playing under a neutral flag. They will already be playing under a neutral flag due to their doping issues. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HibeeJibee Posted February 24, 2022 Share Posted February 24, 2022 (edited) 57 minutes ago, forameus said: In terms of precedent, how close are we to the situation that saw Denmark enter and eventually win Euro 92? From memory - and I could be well wrong - Yugoslavia were banned due to the wars breaking out in the Balkans. Could we see Russia get the same? Could they end up playing, winning, qualifying, and then get chucked out if all this gets worse? Austria qualified for WC 1938 - eliminating Latvia - but were 'incorporated' into Germany come tournament starting. FIFA offered England their place (who declined). Sweden then got R1 bye. Germany's squad of 22 included 9x Austrians. Edited February 24, 2022 by HibeeJibee 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paco Posted February 24, 2022 Share Posted February 24, 2022 Scotland play Ukraine in the first two Nations League fixtures.Yeah I’m well aware. I’m sure they’d appreciate the chance to either send a ‘weaker’ squad or simply forfeit a Nations League group match than a World Cup play-off. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donathan Posted February 24, 2022 Share Posted February 24, 2022 31 minutes ago, invergowrie arab said: The Euro 92 situation was in response to sanctions being applied to the state of Yugoslavia by the UN for the actions of the Yugoslavian army in Bosnia-Herzegovina. In the absence of the UN applying sanctions to Ukraine or the crime of being invaded we can rule that scenario out. Russia are a permanent member of the UN security Council so Ukraine getting banned is still more likely than the UN putting sanctions on Russia. The worst case scenario for Russia is playing under a neutral flag. I believe Russia will be under a neutral flag in the WC if they qualify regardless of this situation. FIFA events are covered by their CAS ban (UEFA events are not, hence them being allowed in the euros and the World Cup qualifying under their own flag) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donathan Posted February 24, 2022 Share Posted February 24, 2022 The other three members of their playoff section (Sweden, Poland and Czech Republic) release a join statement saying they will not travel to Russia. Poland are due to travel to Moscow on 24th March, and if the hosts win that then the winner of Sweden v Czech Republic is scheduled to be away to Russia four days later 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Binos Posted February 24, 2022 Share Posted February 24, 2022 4 hours ago, Donathan said: I believe Russia will be under a neutral flag in the WC if they qualify regardless of this situation. FIFA events are covered by their CAS ban (UEFA events are not, hence them being allowed in the euros and the World Cup qualifying under their own flag) The neutral flag stuff is absolute bollocks 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ro Sham Bo Posted February 24, 2022 Share Posted February 24, 2022 Tierney off injured for Arsenal tonight. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willie adie Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 Surely UEFA and FIFA ban russian club and international sides from all competitions 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex Posted February 25, 2022 Author Share Posted February 25, 2022 I’m sure this game will go ahead, and it will get a lot of global attention. May be one of the last games Ukraine play. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virtual Insanity Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 BBC were saying cramp for Tierney so hopefully fine. Have the fear that Ukraine are never going to have been so motivated for a game in their lives. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donathan Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 Ukraine President signs a martial order banning all males between 18 and 60 from leaving the country. Really feels like the most likely scenario is that we play against a selection of Ukrainian players who are not domestically based. Gives me the fear of that game in Prague where the whole Czech team had covid and we only very narrowly defeated their B team. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donathan Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 2 minutes ago, Virtual Insanity said: BBC were saying cramp for Tierney so hopefully fine. Have the fear that Ukraine are never going to have been so motivated for a game in their lives. He went off in stoppage time at the end so hopefully just cramp. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highlandmagar Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 51 minutes ago, Willie adie said: Surely UEFA and FIFA ban russian club and international sides from all competitions All their games to be played on neutral territory. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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