Ukraine's World Cup play-off with Scotland pushed back to June

Live updates: follow the latest news on Russia-Ukraine Ukraine's postponed World Cup play-off against Ukraine has been rescheduled for June, world governing body Fifa has said. The play-off semi-final was due to be played at Glasgow's Hampden Park on March 24, but has been delayed for three months following Russia's invasion of Ukraine . Announcing the move, Fifa said: “On March 3 2022, the Ukrainian Association of Football wrote to Fifa requesting that its qualification match[es] be rescheduled owing to the impossibility of organising both the travel and training of a team under the current circumstances. “Following consultation with Uefa and the four participating member associations in Path A of the European qualifying play-offs, it was unanimously agreed in the spirit of solidarity to accept this request.” The Scottish Football Association welcomed the fixture delay, saying it had supported Ukraine’s request for a postponement. SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell said: “In light of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, it is the correct decision by Fifa to postpone our play-off, as requested by the Ukrainian Association of Football. “The importance and significance of football is greatly diminished in a time of war and our thoughts are with those Ukrainian civilians affected by the conflict.” Fifa confirmed Wales' play-off with Austria in Cardiff will go ahead as planned on March 24 with Scotland or Ukraine playing the winners in the same June window to determine a place at this year’s World Cup in Qatar. The Fifa statement added: “It was further agreed that the match between Wales and Austria will remain as scheduled on 24 March 2022, owing to the need to limit the disruption to the competitive matches already scheduled for the June window in what is an already congested calendar. “Alternative fixtures for affected teams in the March window are being explored by the relevant parties. “Similarly, the details of the rescheduled fixtures will be announced in due course and the international match calendar window of June will be adapted as necessary for the teams concerned once these details have been finalised.” Football Association of Wales chief executive Noel Mooney simply tweeted: “See you at CCS v Austria on 24th March”, adding the word “Solidarity” with a Ukrainian flag emoji. Scotland confirmed they will play an away friendly against the losers of the Wales v Austria tie on March 29. Fifa added that Poland would receive a bye to the next round, and play either Sweden or the Czech Republic for a spot at the World Cup, a decision that was sharply criticised by the Swedish Football Association (SvFF). "Fifa finally made the right decision when it comes to Russia but this decision [to give Poland a bye] is unfortunately completely [crazy] from a sporting perspective," Sweden boss Janne Andersson said in a statement. SvFF general secretary Hakan Sjoestrand said that he understood the difficulties for Fifa but the Swedes had hoped that Poland would get a new opponent so that the circumstances would be the same for all teams. Poland have been given a bye to the final in Path B, with their scheduled semi-final opponents Russia having been banned from international competition by Fifa and Uefa , world and European football’s respective governing bodies. The Russian Football Union is appealing the decision, with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) confirming in a statement on Tuesday that it has received notice of Russia’s appeal against the ban. The statement added: “The CAS anticipates being able to share further information on the proceedings through a media release in a few days’ time, once a decision has been issued with respect to the requests for a stay.” The draw for the World Cup finals is to be held in Doha on April 1. On Monday Fifa announced that foreign players and coaches working in Russia and Ukraine will be allowed to temporarily suspend their contracts and move elsewhere.

Ukraine's World Cup play-off with Scotland pushed back to June

Fifa says other Path A semi-final between Wales and Austria will go ahead as planned on March 24