“I would like to see a parliamentary debate on whether concerted government action together with other countries to postpone the World Cup or move it to another venue would be the right way to go,” Woodcock told the Daily Express. On Thursday the foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, said there were no plans to stop England competing in the World Cup, but he said there would not be any “high-level representation” at the event. But there is a growing appetite among MPs to push for concerted international action over the World Cup. “Putin has invested billions of roubles in the World Cup and sees it as an opportunity to showcase his regime to the world.”The FA said it would “continue to work closely with the government and relevant authorities”. All Nato allies express strong political support to the UK.

Source: The Guardian March 16, 2018 08:26 UTC