• Scottish FA president Rod Petrie issued a letter of support to his Ukrainian counterpart last week, stating “football is inconsequential amid conflict”, so it is unlikely the Scotland camp will have too many objections.
• Russia have already been suspended by both Uefa and Fifa, meaning they will be unable to play their own World Cup play-off semi-final against Poland and dealing with that is the governing bodies’ immediate focus.
Image: FILE
On March 24, Scotland and Ukraine are still scheduled to be duelling on a date of destiny, with one nation creeping tantalisingly closer to a place at this year’s World Cup finals.
Instead, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has understandably taken the focus off that play-off semi-final.
Ukraine have requested that Fifa postpone the Hampden fixture, but what could happen with the game scheduled to take place in just over two weeks’ time?
Can the game be postponed?
In short, yes. Fifa have confirmed that Ukraine have pleaded for the tie to be pushed back after the country was invaded by Russia and it will be the world governing body who has the final say, not just on if the game will be moved, but to when.
Scottish FA president Rod Petrie issued a letter of support to his Ukrainian counterpart last week, stating “football is inconsequential amid conflict”, so it is unlikely the Scotland camp will have too many objections.
Right now, postponing the game seems an inevitability, although there is no imminent suggestion of that happening.
Right, so when might it be played?
Most probably June. Remember, the World Cup in Qatar doesn’t kick off until November, so there is a bit more time to play with. Despite that, crowbarring in the fixtures into an already-congested calendar isn’t easy.
The draw for the finals takes place on 1 April, and training camps and preparations will need to be planned well in advance of the first game on 21 November. It may well be there’s a group slot/private jet/training base/fancy spa hotel reserved for four teams with a big asterisk next to it.
The window of opportunity is the Nations League international break at the start of June. As fate would have it, Scotland are due to face Ukraine anyway on 7 June, along with an Armenia double header and a trip to Dublin to play Republic of Ireland.
While the rescheduling of those games would fall to Uefa — you still following? — it is likely Fifa will try and shoehorn the play-off semis and final into those dates.
Indeed, Shakhtar Donetsk’s director of football Darijo Srna has reportedly been told by Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin that June is the preferred option.
When Uefa attempt to reschedule those games could be tricky due to contracts and the number of games that must be played in a calendar year, but you’d hope this was a speed bump rather than a barrier.
There is one more international break prior to the finals, with two Nations League fixtures scheduled for late September. But with the showpiece in Qatar kicking off less than two months later, fair to say that would be leaving it a bit late.
What about Wales v Austria?
Good question. If Scotland v Ukraine is delayed, two nations that will take great interest in what happens next are the Welsh and the Austrians, with one of them due to host the winner in the play-off final.
That decisive contest is due to take play in either Cardiff or Vienna on 29 March, but obviously that can’t happen if Steve Clarke’s side don’t take on the Ukranians until well after that date.
Will the Wales v Austria match, originally scheduled for the same date as Scotland v Ukraine, be pushed back as well? That is a possibility to preserve sporting equality, but so too is them carrying on as planned and playing the final three months later.
Could things still change?
As with everything in football, never say never.
Russia have already been suspended by both Uefa and Fifa, meaning they will be unable to play their own World Cup play-off semi-final against Poland and dealing with that is the governing bodies’ immediate focus.
As things stand, the Poles will get a free pass into the final, where either Sweden or Czech Republic will be waiting.
While that situation is unlikely to alter, the ongoing conflict in Ukraine will decide what happens to the fixture with Scotland. There are no guarantees the crisis will have improved enough for a game to take place in June, far less later this month.
Fifteen out of the 23-man squad chosen for the World Cup qualifiers in November play in their homeland, so it’s unclear how able the Ukrainians will be to field a team if the conflict continues. What should have been something dominating the headlines in both countries has now faded into insignificance. That much won’t change any time soon.