FIFA HAVE NOTHING TO CHEER

SOME may see Vitaly Mutko’s decision to step away from the organisation of the 2018 World Cup as a victory for FIFA. It is nothing of the sort. The involvement of Mutko, discredited for his role in Russia’s state doping programme, may have become an embarrassment for football but FIFA’s response was pitiful. Left to them, he would still be at the pinnacle. This will be the work of Vladimir Putin, removing his ally from the firing line to avoid awkward questions. Beneath the surface, nothing has changed — certainly not with FIFA.