England could lead a boycott of the Russian World Cup this summer over the allegations that the Kremlin is behind the poisoning of a spy in the UK this week.

British MPs will urge nations to join them in pulling out if the attack on Sergei Skripal is linked to Vladimir Putin.

Commons foreign affairs committee chairman Tom Tugendhat said ministers should urge allies to join a World Cup boycott as part of reprisals against Putin’s regime.


Mr Tugendhat said he was “not normally in favour of mixing sport and politics”, but said the serious nature of the attack meant a boycott should be “kept on the table”.

He said: “It is extraordinary that an international sporting event designed to promote peace is being held in a country that has bought it with corrupt money while using murder as an instrument of state policy.”

Former Labour minister Chris Bryant likened this summer’s World Cup in Russia to the notorious 1936 Olympics in Berlin, which were exploited by Adolf Hitler to promote Nazi propaganda.

Mr Bryant, chairman of the all party parliamentary Russia group, said it would be “very difficult” for England to play at the World Cup if Moscow was proved to be linked to the attack.

“The World Cup shouldn’t be happening in Moscow at all because it was corruptly awarded,” he said.


“Putin loves using these moments to glorify Russia and he will want to do so again. It will be like 1936 all over again.”

MPs plan to approach some of the giants of the global game, including current world champions Germany, as well as France, Spain and Portugal.

Politicians will also ask the other European qualifiers – Belgium, Poland, Serbia, Croatia, Iceland, Sweden and Switzerland – to join in the protest.

England could also even approach other World Cup qualifiers Australia and Nigeria as members of the Commonwealth.

Last night sources close to Fifa warned any teams that pull out should expect to be banned from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.


But Fifa declined to make any official comment on the crisis.