Russian singer barred from 2018 World Cup

A well-known Russian singer says FIFA barred her from performing at the World Cup because of her support for Russiabacked rebels in eastern Ukraine. Julia Chicherina published what she says is a letter from FIFA objecting to “military topics” in the video for her song On The Front Line, which featured Chicherina singing with armed men in rebel uniforms. Chicherina was scheduled to perform on June 15 at a FIFA fan zone in the World Cup host city of Rostov-on-Don, close to the Ukrainian border, but said “I’ve been officially banned.” The World Cup is distracting Russia from aiding the separatist cause in eastern Ukraine, Chicherina claimed. Chicherina was a popular mainstream pop singer in the early 2000s in Russia, but has recently focused on campaigning for rebel groups in eastern Ukraine.