Controversies

As with the 2014 Winter Olympics, the choice of Russia as host has been challenged. Controversial issues have included the level of racism in Russian football,World Cup 2018 win raises Russian racism fears Yaya Toure: Black players may boycott 2018 Russia World Cup and discrimination against LGBT people in wider Russian society.Campaigns demand FIFA bans Russia from hosting 2018 World Cup due to anti-gay law Why FIFA Needs to Move the World Cup Russia's involvement in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine (War in Donbass) has also caused calls for the tournament to be moved, particularly following the annexation of Crimea (annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation).Fifa urged to rethink staging 2018 World Cup in Russia US calls for Fifa to drop Russia from hosting World Cup in 2018 FIFA President Sepp Blatter said: "The World Cup has been given and voted to Russia and we are going forward with our work".Sepp Blatter: Russia will host 2018 World Cup despite Crimea

Allegations of corruption in the bidding processes for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups caused threats from England's FA (The Football Association) to boycott the tournament.World Cup: Former FA chief David Bernstein calls for boycott FIFA appointed Michael J. Garcia, a US attorney, to investigate and produce a report (the Garcia Report) on the corruption allegations. Although the report was never published, FIFA released a 42-page summary of its findings as determined by German judge Hans-Joachim Eckert. Eckert's summary cleared Russia and Qatar of any wrongdoing, but was denounced by critics as a whitewash (wiktionary:whitewash#Verb).FIFA under fire after report on Qatar, Russia Garcia criticised the summary as being "materially incomplete" with "erroneous representations of the facts and conclusions", and appealed to FIFA's Appeal Committee.Greg Dyke: FA demands full report findings into World Cup corruption FIFA corruption report: Who is to blame and what happens now? The committee declined to hear his appeal, so Garcia resigned in protest of FIFA's conduct, citing a "lack of leadership" and lack of confidence in the independence of Eckert.Michael Garcia: FIFA investigator resigns in World Cup report row

On 3 June 2015, the FBI confirmed that the federal authorities were investigating the bidding and awarding processes for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.Ben Rumsby, "Fifa in crisis: FBI extends investigation to Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022 World Cup bids", ''The Telegraph'' James Riach "FBI investigating Fifa’s awarding of 2018 and 2022 World Cups – report", ''The Guardian'' In an interview published on 7 June 2015, Domenico Scala (Domenico Scala (manager)), the head of FIFA's Audit And Compliance Committee, stated that "should there be evidence that the awards to Qatar and Russia came only because of bought votes, then the awards could be cancelled".'Russia & Qatar may lose World Cups' – Fifa official Russia and Qatar may lose World Cups if evidence of bribery is found

Due to the financial crisis in the Russian economy, the budget for the preparations was cut a few times. In June 2015, a government decree (Order of the Government of Russia) cut the budget by $560 million, to a total of $11.8 billion.Russia Orders $560-Million Cuts on World Cup 2018 Spending

After Morocco qualified for the tournament with a 2–0 victory over Ivory Coast, the celebrations by the Moroccan community in Brussels (Moroccans in Belgium) turned into a riot with cars burnt, shops looted by some 300 rioters and 20 police officers injured.Brussels riot after Morocco football win Cars burnt, police hurt in Brussels after Morocco World Cup success Firefighters sent to put out the fires were also attacked by the rioters.<ref name=":0" />

# Doping in Russia

Russia has had the most (51) Olympic medals stripped (List of stripped Olympic medals) for doping violations – the most of any country, four times the number of the runner-up, and nearly a third of the global total. From 2011 to 2015, more than a thousand Russian competitors in various sports, including summer, winter, and Paralympic sports, benefited from a cover-up.Electronic Documentary Package of the IP Professor Richard H. McLaren, O.C. McLaren Independent Investigation Report into Sochi Allegations – Part II Independent Commission – Report 1 The Independent Commission Report #2 33 footballers who are alleged to be part of the steroid program are listed in the McLaren Report.Fifa contacts McLaren over doping claims in football

On 22 December 2017 it was reported that FIFA fired a doctor who had been investigating doping in Russian football.Doctor sacked by Fifa was investigating alleged Russian football doping