A request by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to share a message of world peace prior to kickoff at the World Cup final on Sunday has been rebuffed by FIFA.
Report informs citing CNN that a source said Zelenskyy’s office is offering to appear in a video link to fans in the stadium in Qatar, ahead of the game and was surprised by the negative response. It’s unclear if Zelenskyy’s message would be live, or taped.
“We thought FIFA wanted to use its platform for the greater good,” the source said.
However, talks between Ukraine and the sport’s governing body are still underway, the source added. CNN has reached out to FIFA for comment, but it did not immediately respond.
On November 4, the federation urged the World Cup participants not to involve football in politics.