A bipartisan group of U.S. senators want to block Russia from hosting soccer’s World Cup in 2018.
In a letter signed by nine Republicans and four Democrats, lawmakers asked President Joseph “Sepp” Blatter of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), to “strip Russia of the privilege” of hosting the World Cup.
The senators cited the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, where Russia is sending troops and aiding separatists in a battle over Ukrainian territory.
“It is unacceptable that while nearly half of the 2014 World Cup participants have joined the international sanctions regime to counter Russian aggression, FIFA would not even consider allowing its members to vote on moving the 2018 competition to a country that respects the shared principles of FIFA and international law,” the senators wrote.
The letter is signed by Sen. Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, as well as Minority Whip Richard Durbin, D-Ill., Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., and potential 2016 GOP presidential candidate Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
