Two Russian lawmakers have called on FIFA supremo Sepp Blatter to expel the United States from the World Cup finals.
Alexander Sidyakin and Mikhail Markelov sent their letter to Blatter a week after two US Republican lawmakers called on FIFA to take the 2018 World Cup finals away from Russia because of the military intervention in Crimea.
“We ask you to call an extraordinary FIFA meeting and suspend USA’s FIFA membership and to expel their national side from playing in the 2014 World Cup,” said the letter by the two State Duma deputies from President Vladimir Putin’s ruling United Russia party.
The letter said action was needed after the US “aggression against several sovereign states like Yugoslavia, Iraq and Libya” and attempts “to occupy Syria.”
The MPs said the United States was “violating the human rights in the world” and highlighted cases quoted by fugitive whistleblower Edward Snowden.
Sidyakin said the letter was a response to a call by US Republican senators Mark Kirk and Dan Coats for FIFA to suspend Russia.
“I’m not expecting to get any answer. I just want the FIFA boss to have two similar letters that will expose the stupidity of US senators, who turn a blind eye to their own faults,” Sidyakin was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency.
The US senators wrote that “in light of Russia’s military occupation of a sovereign Ukraine” Russia should be expelled from the 2014 World Cup and stripped of its right to host the 2018 finals.
Blatter has said that FIFA will consider political and human rights situations in bid countries before awarding future World Cups.