There is something almost ritualistic about the way football brings us together. On muddy local pitches on rainy Tuesday evenings. In packed stadiums on Sunday afternoons. In living rooms, clubhouses and dressing rooms across continents. Football is not just a sport. It is culture, community and identity. For millions of children, it is where dreams begin.
That is precisely why FIFA’s wavering course on the exclusion of Russia from international football is so deeply troubling. This is not...