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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Mark Pirie

First Scotland vs Ukraine domino falls as UEFA future proof amid Russia escalation

Russia and Ukraine have been told they must find neutral venues for their national sides by UEFA amid rising tensions.

Having stripped Zenit St Petersburg's Gazprom Arena of the Champions League final, European football's governing body have also taken action over national team competitions under their control.

Both Russia and Ukraine will not be allowed to hold home matched in upcoming Nations League qualifiers and future European qualifiers.

That would see Scotland 's Group B Nations League campaign impacted, with Steve Clarke's men set to travel to the Ukraine in September.

The first clash with Oleksandr Petrakov's side in the Nations League will take place at Hampden on July 7.

A UEFA statement read: "The UEFA Executive Committee further determined to remain on standby to convene further extraordinary meetings, on a regular ongoing basis where required, to reassess the legal and factual situation as it evolves and adopt further decisions as necessary."

The UEFA decision ramps up the pressure on FIFA to take further action with the crucial World Cup playoff at Hampden on the horizon.

The Ukranian top flight won't resume until March 26 with the country under martial law - two days after Ukraine are due to travel to Glasgow.

President Gianni Infantino has stated they are ready to step in ahead of the qualifier in Glasgow.

Infantino said on Thursday: "Fifa continues to express solidarity to the people affected by this conflict.

“We continue to monitor the situation and we will communicate updates with regarding the upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifiers soon.

“The FIFA bureau is in charge of dealing with these matters and can take decisions immediately as soon as it’s needed."

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