No-one will strip Russia of 2018 World Cup - sports minister

MOSCOW, November 16. /TASS/. Moscow is insured against the possible relocation of the 2018 World Cup but it will definitely take place in Russia, Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said in an exclusive interview with TASS. "There is a substantive insurance premium for such case. But nobody is taking anything from Russia. This will never take place under no matter what circumstances," Mutko said. "The Executive Committee in Zurich made the necessary decisions long time ago and repeatedly confirmed them." Matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup will be held between June 14 and July 15 at 12 stadiums in 11 Russian cities, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, Sochi, Samara, Nizhny Novgorod, Kaliningrad, Rostov-on-Don, Yekaterinburg, Volgograd and Saransk. "I cannot even imagine a possible force majeure to cancel the championship," he said. "I cannot even imagine a possible force majeure to cancel the championship. It may happen only if either FIFA self-terminates or the United States would press against the organization the most sound corruption charges. I do not believe either in the first of the second scenario." Speaking about the recent corruption scandals at FIFA, Mutko said, "In all investigations, conducted by the authorities of the United States and Switzerland, FIFA is the injured party. The charges are pressed against definite persons, but the organization remains untouched so far. But dark times will come if it happens." The full text of the interview is available at http://tass.ru/en Read more