FIFA postpone Scotland vs. Ukraine World Cup qualifier to June; Poland handed bye for Russia tie

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has made holding the match impossible

Ukraine's World Cup qualifier against Scotland has been postponed until June, FIFA confirmed on Tuesday.

The Ukrainian Association of Football requested the postponement of the match at Hampden Park, due to be played later this month, following the Russian invasion into their country. It is now scheduled to take place in June. The war in Ukraine has brought a halt to civilian life across much of the country with the Premier League suspended last month.

"Following consultation with UEFA and the four participating member associations in Path A of the European qualifying play-offs, it was unanimously agreed in the spirit of solidarity to accept this request," said FIFA. "The match between Scotland and Ukraine, initially scheduled for 24 March 2022, will now be postponed to the existing June window, and consequently, the match between the winners of Scotland vs. Ukraine and Wales vs. Austria will also be postponed to the same window."

Scotland have welcomed FIFA's decision and are now in discussions with UEFA over rearranging the fixture previously scheduled for the summer, when they were due to play Armenia and indeed Ukraine in the Nations League. 

"In light of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, it is the correct decision by FIFA to postpone our play-off, as requested by the Ukrainian Association of Football," said Scottish FA chief executive Ian Maxwell. "The importance and significance of football is greatly diminished in a time of war and our thoughts are with those Ukrainian civilians affected by the conflict."

Wales will play their match against Austria on March 24.  Scotland will play an away friendly against whichever team loses that match. The three teams still involved in qualifying will find out what could await them in Qatar when the World Cup draw is made on April 1 in Doha, Qatar.

Meanwhile FIFA have confirmed that Russia's exclusion from international football means Poland will receive a bye to the final round of their qualifying quartet, playing the winner of Sweden's tie with the Czech Republic. All three football associations had said they would not play in Russia nor play against a team representing the country at a neutral venue, a stance that ultimately helped force the hand of world football's governing body.

Russia have launched an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in an attempt to overturn their suspension.