FIFA and UEFA have agreed to ban six international fixtures ahead of Friday's World Cup qualifying draw.
On Friday morning European nations will discover their World Cup 2026 opponents in a draw taking place in Zurich, Switzerland.
All UEFA nations have been placed into one of five pots depending on their seeding, and there will be a total of 12 qualifying groups drawn.
However, ahead of the draw on Friday, both FIFA and UEFA have decided to ban six matches from being drawn for various different reasons.
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When political drama or cultural clashes threaten to turn a football match into a dangerous affair, it is sometimes best for a match to be banned altogether, and this is precisely what UEFA and FIFA have done.
Euro 2024 champions Spain are of course placed into pot 1 for Friday's draw, but will not be eligible to play pot five side Gibraltar due to tensions over who owns the nation.
Following La Roja's victory in the Euro 2024 final, Manchester City midfielder Rodri found himself in trouble after singing a controversial chant claiming that Gibraltar belonged to Spain.
Armenia and Azerbaijan will also be ineligible to face each other in the World Cup qualifying groups due to political and ethical tensions over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Kosovo, who have been placed in pot four for Friday's draw, are also banned from being drawn against either pot three's Bosnia-Herzegovina or pot two team Serbia due a historical conflict over Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008.
Since the declaration, Serbia, along with several of their international allies, have refused to recognise Kosovo as their own nation, leading to increased tensions.
This means that Serbia, and allies Bosnia-Herzegovina will not be drawn against Kosovo on Friday despite the three nations being in different pots.
Just last month, tensions regarding Kosovo's independence came to head during a match against Romania, leading to Kosovo players abandoning the match due to chants from rival fans.
Of course, the Russian Football Union (RFU) has banned from both FIFA and UEFA competitions since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, but should they ever be brought back into the international game, they will not be eligible to play either Kosovo, due to their support of Serbia, or Ukraine due to the historic conflict between the two nations.
Full list of the fixtures that are banned by UEFA and FIFA
- Spain v Gibraltar - Disputes over who owns Gibraltar
- Armenia v Azerbaijan - Ethical and territorial conflict
- Kosovo v Serbia - Historical and ethical conflict - Kosovo independence
- Kosovo v Bosnia and Herzegovina - Bosnia support of Serbia against Kosovo
- Kosovo v Russia - Russia support of Serbia against Kosovo
- Russia v Ukraine - Ongoing conflict
Topics: FIFA, UEFA, FIFA World Cup, Football World Cup
Ben McCrum