FIFA has rejected a request from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to share a "message of peace" before this Sunday's World Cup final between France and Argentina, it has emerged.
CNN reports that Zelensky’s office proposed sharing a message before the final in Qatar and were taken aback by the negative response. “We thought FIFA wanted to use its platform for the greater good,” a source from Zelensky's office said.
However, Ukrainian officials have not completely given up hope on some kind of arrangement, with the two sides reportedly in a discussion about how the platform can be used to promote the greater good.
Zelensky, whose country has been under Russian invasion since February, has repeatedly tried to use major world events to spread the message of its struggle against Putin's forces. These have included, but are not limited to, appearances via video link at the G20 summit, Grammy Awards, and even the Cannes Film Festival. He has also given interviews to various journalists and entertainers, including Sean Penn and David Letterman, and hosted an array of figures and dignitaries at his residence in Kyiv.
The 2018 World Cup was held in Russia, a decision that raised eyebrows among other nations bidding for the tournament about potential corruption. However, Russia was ejected from the tournament's qualifying process earlier this year as a response to the war in Ukraine, following the lead of many other sporting competitions which banned Russian players or sides from competing.
