FIFA: No request to switch Crimean clubs to Russia

World football's governing body FIFA on Wednesday said it hadreceived no request to shift Crimean clubs from the Ukrainian to the Russian league,despite Moscow's annexation of the Ukrainian province."FIFA has not received any request for any change of the Crimean clubs to theRussian League," a FIFA spokesman told AFP. Moscow took over Crimea last month after a referendum there organised by pro-Kremlin separatists which has been condemned by the international community.The Russian Football Union (RFU) has announced that it has already started theprocess of incorporating the Crimean region football federation and the local clubsinto Russia's league system.The issue of the flag under which Crimea's sides will play is sharply political, andthey and the Russian league would face the risk of punishment by FIFA andEuropean governing body UEFA if they jump ship unilaterally.If either governing body were to give a green light for such a move, it would also behighly sensitive for organisations whose statutes require them to stay out ofpolitics, given that the Kremlin's territorial takeover has not been recognisedinternationally.With Russia hit by Western sanctions over its move, Moscow's opponents have already begun raising the spectre of a boycott when it hosts the 2018 World Cup.Crimea is home to two Ukrainian Premier League clubs, FC Sevastopol and TavriaSimferopol, both of whom have struggled this season.Their fate was debated at a meeting of FIFA's executive committee last month, justdays after the Russian annexation."The two professional teams that are part of the Ukrainian professional league willend the season with the other teams in Ukraine," FIFA chief Sepp Blatter said at thetime."It is an agreement that has been made by all the participating parties and endorsedby UEFA and FIFA," he told reporters.But with Moscow making every effort to harmonise every aspect of life in Crimea --even the clocks -- with that in the rest of Russia, the issue appears far from settled for next season.Sevastopol's owner has expressed his desire to stay in the Ukrainian league,possibly by moving the club to a southern Ukrainian city, but Simferopol haveindicated that the do not need anyone's permission to jump ship.Ukraine's Football Federation has said that Crimean clubs have the right to decidetheir own allegiance, provided the rules are followed. Source: AFP