Wales’ World Cup play-off against Austria will be delayed should FIFA postpone Scotland’s clash with Ukraine, Football of Wales chief executive Noel Mooney has suggested.
FIFA confirmed on Thursday that Ukraine have requested a postponement of their play-off semi-final in Glasgow on March 24 following Russia’s invasion of their country.
Ukraine or Scotland are due to visit the winners of the Wales-Austria game on March 29 to determine a place at the World Cup in Qatar later this year.
Wales are scheduled to play Austria in the World Cup play-off semi-final in Cardiff on March 24
‘We are planning to play against Austria on March 24 at the Cardiff City Stadium,’ Mooney told BBC Radio Wales.
‘I spoke to Rob Page (Wales manager) yesterday and we are all set for that.
‘But then news came through about Ukraine requesting postponement of the match to June.’
Football has been suspended in Ukraine until March 26 and it is now expected that FIFA will grant the request for the play-off at Hampden Park to be called off.
Asked about the likelihood of Wales’ game being delayed to June should the Scotland-Ukraine semi-final be played then, Mooney replied: ‘Until we get official clarification of that, you can surmise it.
FAW chief Noel Mooney will ‘make the right decision for football and for our friends in Ukraine’
‘We can surmise that, but that’s not what we have at the moment. We know Ukraine have asked for a postponement until June, but these things change quite quickly.
‘I have spoken to my Ukrainian counterpart and will speak to him again.
‘We’ll definitely make the right decision for football and for our friends in Ukraine, and at the same time balance it against the fact we’d like to qualify for our first World Cup since 1958.’
Mooney and FAW president Steve Williams are in Glasgow this weekend for a meeting with Scottish Football Association officials that has been arranged for some time.
But Mooney said: ‘I’m sure these matches in March will be discussed at the dinner table.
Ukraine’s FA have asked FIFA and UEFA to postpone their World Cup qualification playoff
‘But we’ve written to FIFA and to UEFA because that’s our confederation.
‘We wrote to the other associations involved – Scotland, Austria and of course Ukraine – to say we should meet as soon as possible early next week to discuss how this would work as we’ve got a plethora of Nations League games in June.
‘There will be lots of dialogue over the weekend and we’ll make a decision next week at the latest I would say.
‘Then our fans can look forward to either March or June to play our World Cup play-offs.’
A FIFA spokesman said on Thursday: ‘FIFA can confirm it has received a request from the Ukrainian Association of Football today to postpone their matches scheduled for March.
‘FIFA remains in regular contact with UEFA and the Scottish Football Association to find an appropriate solution.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to uncertainty over when the playoff will go ahead
‘FIFA expresses its deepest solidarity to everybody affected by what is happening in Ukraine. A further update will be provided in due course.’
Meanwhile, Russia themselves will not be able to compete in their own World Cup qualifier ahead of the Qatar showpiece after they were kicked out of qualifying by FIFA.
However, on Thursday, the Russian Football Union lodged an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against the decision made by FIFA and UEFA to ban their clubs and the national team for international competitions.
A statement from the RFU said: ‘The Russian Football Union will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne against the decision taken by FIFA and UEFA to remove the Russian national teams from participation in international competitions.
The Cardiff City Stadium will welcome Scotland or Ukraine if Wales beat Austria in the playoffs
‘As part of a single lawsuit against two organisations, the RFU will demand the restoration of all men’s and women’s national teams of Russia in all types of football in the tournaments in which they took part (including in the qualifying round of the World Cup in Qatar), as well as compensation for damage, if any will be installed.’
The RFU insists FIFA and UEFA violated fundamental rights, sporting principle and fair play when it took away the right of Russian clubs and national teams to compete.
It urged an expedited procedure to occur with its case in order to allow its clubs and international sides to compete in upcoming fixtures, which did include qualifiers for the Qatar World Cup later this month.
‘In order to ensure the possibility of the participation of Russian teams in the next scheduled matches, the RFU will insist on an expedited procedure for considering the case,’ the statement continued.
FIFA have thrown Russia out of World Cup qualifying after the country’s invasion of Ukraine
‘If FIFA and UEFA refuse such a procedure, a requirement will be put forward for the introduction of interim measures in the form of suspension of FIFA and UEFA decisions, as well as competitions in which Russian teams were supposed to participate.
‘The RFU believes that FIFA and UEFA did not have a legal basis when deciding on the removal of Russian teams. It violated the fundamental rights of the RFU as a member of FIFA and UEFA, including the right to take part in competitions.
‘In addition, the decision to withdraw the national team from qualification for the 2022 World Cup was made under pressure from direct rivals in the play-offs, which violated the principle of sports and the rules of fair play.’
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