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German politicians yesterday questioned whether Russia should still be allowed to host the 2018 World Cup following the shot down Malaysian plane over Ukraine.
Seperatist rebels have been blamed for the tragedy, which killed 298 people, and MPs in Germany are now asking whether Russia is a safe place to host a major international tournament.
Deputy head of the conservative block of the German parliament Michael Fuchs believes that stripping the country of hosting the finals would be a “harsher punishment” than any the European Union would impose — though Western claims of Russian responsibility are unproven.
“Fifa football association should think about whether Moscow is an appropriate host if it can’t even guarantee safe airways,” said Fuchs — even though the tragedy occured outside Russian airspace.
And Hesse state interior minister Peter Beuth agreed with Fuchs.
“If (Russian President Vladimir) Putin doesn’t actively co-operate on clearing up the plane crash, the soccer World Cup in Russia in 2018 is unimaginable,” added Beuth.
MP Bernd Fabritius also backed the call to change location of the tournament, arguing that the safety of not only fans but the players should be the priority.
“Firstly, the safety of players and fans cannot be guaranteed,” said Fabritius.
Many of the passengers who died were from the Netherlands but the Dutch FA feel it is too early to strip Russia of the opportunity to host its first World Cup.
“The Dutch football association is aware that a future World Cup in Russia stirs great emotion among all football fans and relatives in the Netherlands,” it said in a statement.
“The association believes it is more appropriate to conduct a discussion over a future World Cup in Russia at a later moment, once the investigation into the disaster has been completed.”
Germany and France have been earmarked as possible replacements.