On the eve of the eight-nation tournament, Vitaly Mutko, Russia's deputy prime minister and organizing chief, said Russia was "grateful to FIFA" but said the country did not have a systematic problem with racism.
Football's world governing body this week put anti-discrimination mechanisms in place including a three-step policy allowing referees to stop a match if players receive racist abuse and request a public announcement, suspend the match if behaviour persists and if necessary abandon the match.
Russia is "absolutely ready to start this tournament," Mutko said. He was backed by FIFA secretary general Fatma Samoura, who said Russia was at "the best level" of readiness. There were no major recommendations for next year's World Cup only "minor technical details.”
GNA
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