FIFA warned court of World Cup chaos if Russia played

By GRAHAM DUNBAR
AP Sports Writer

GENEVA (AP) — FIFA successfully argued to sport’s highest court that letting Russia try to qualify for the World Cup risked doing “irreparable and chaotic” harm to the competition. The legal debate between FIFA and Russia’s soccer federation was published by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. It explained why a CAS judge denied an urgent Russian request last month to freeze a FIFA ban on its teams. The interim ruling in Russia’s appeal was made on March 18 pending a full appeal hearing. That is likely due at CAS in the weeks ahead when Russian soccer will challenge FIFA again.