FIFA under pressure to ban Russia from hosting 2018 World Cup over Crimea aggression

FIFA President Sepp Blatter is reportedly coming under intense pressure to change the venue of the 2018 World Cup as US politicians have said that Russia should be banned from hosting the event as a punishment for its takeover of Crimea.

Republican Senator from Indiana Dan Coats said that a more deserving World Cup 2018 bid should be reconsidered instead of Russia, because if they allow the country to keep the tournament it would remind them of what happened with Hitler in the early Twenties and Thirties.

According to the Daily Express, Senator Coats and fellow Republican Senator Mark Kirk from Illinois have written a joint letter to Blatter, saying that the game's governing world body has a precedent for banning Russia from even playing in the tournament. Senator Coats said that since Russia has similarly displayed a brazen disrespect for fundamental principles of FIFA and international law, he feels that Blatter will agree that it does not deserve the honour of either hosting the World Cup or participating in one.

However Prime Minister David Cameron said that he would leave the talks about stripping the finals from Russia for the football authorities.

Russia is spending 12 billion-pounds on preparing to host the World Cup in 2018 and 4 billion-pounds on developing the game at grassroots level and any question mark over Russia's future FIFA membership could harm the private investment it needs, the report added.