Fifa postpones Ukraine's World Cup qualifier against Scotland

World governing body to allow foreign players and coaches working in Russia and Ukraine to temporarily suspend their contracts and move elsewhere

Cars are left abandoned on a road as residents flee the town of Irpin, Ukraine after days of heavy shelling. Reuters

A Ukrainian soldier helps a family fleeing from Irpin. Reuters

A bus passes the Duke of Wellington statue, which has a traffic cone in the colours of the flag of Ukraine placed on top of it, in Glasgow, Scotland. AP

Ukrainian children sleep at the reception point at the train station in Przemysl, Poland. Reuters

Smoke rises as a Ukrainian soldier stands by the only escape route used by locals to flee from the town of Irpin. Reuters

A man flees from Irpin. Reuters

A screengrab from footage released by the Russian Defence Ministry shows a purported Russian tank unit advancement in the Kyiv region. AFP

People walk on debris of residential buildings damaged by shelling in the Zhytomyr region. Reuters

A damaged residential building after Russian multiple rocket launchers shelled the area in the southern city of Mykolaiv. AFP

Ukrainian soldiers sit in their armoured vehicle after fighting against Russian troops and Russia-backed separatists near Zolote village, Luhansk region. AFP

A woman offers accommodation for people fleeing Ukraine at the main railway station in Berlin, Germany. Getty Images

A soldier holds a helmet as a wedding crown during the ceremony for members of the Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces Lesia Ivashchenko and Valerii Fylymonov, at a checkpoint in Kyiv. AP

Ukrainian soldiers carry a woman fleeing the town of Irpin. AP

A factory and warehouse burn after being bombarded in Irpin. AP

Ukrainian soldiers near Zolote. AFP

A Ukrainian refugee boy, wearing a blanket on his shoulders, warms his hands with a gas heater shortly after crossing the Siret border into northern Romania. EPA

People demonstrate against the Russian military operation in Ukraine in Buenos Aires, Argentina. EPA

First responders work at the scene after a missile hit a building at Havryshivka Vinnytsia International Airport in Vinnytsia, Ukraine. Reuters

A woman at a checkpoint on the road to Kyiv after her evacuation from a nearby town. AFP

A placard in the Ukrainian colours is held up at an anti-war demonstration the Bebelplatz square in Berlin, Germany. Reuters

A Ukrainian serviceman helps an elderly woman in Irpin, 20 kilometres north-west of the capital Kyiv. AP Photo

Protesters cry during a demonstration in support of Ukraine at the Plaza Catalunya square in Barcelona. AFP

A man walks past a machine gun at a checkpoint next to the last bridge on the road that connects the town of Stoyanka to the outskirts of Ukraine's capital Kyiv. AFP

Ukrainian servicemen put a wounded man on a stretcher in Irpin. AP Photo

People board a train to return to Ukraine after getting supplies in Zahony, Hungary. AP Photo

Balloons in the colors of Ukraine during a demonstration against the Russian attack on Ukraine, in Mainz, Germany. AP

A Ukrainian girl helps to weave a camouflage net for the Ukrainian army, in Odesa. EPA

Molotov cocktails prepared by a group of volunteers in Odesa. Hundreds are made every day. EPA

Ukrainian servicemen assist people fleeing the town of Irpin after crossing the Irpin River on an improvised path under a bridge that was destroyed by a Russian air strike. AP Photo

A woman holds a dog while crossing the Irpin River on an improvised path under a bridge that was destroyed by a Russian airstrike, while assisting people fleeing the town of Irpin, Ukraine. AP Photo

Marina Yatsko and her boyfriend Fedor comfort each other at a hospital in Mariupol after her 18-month-old son Kirill was killed by shelling. AP Photo

Ukrainian civilians receive weapons training in a cinema in Lviv, western Ukraine. AP Photo

Residents flee the town of Irpin, near Kyiv, Ukraine. AP Photo

Ukrainian soldiers carry a sick woman as civilians flee Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv, after Russian attacks. AP Photo

Captured Russian soldiers at a press conference in the Interfax news agency in Kyiv, Ukraine. AP Photo

Ukrainians beneath a destroyed bridge in Irpin. AP Photo

A woman fleeing Ukraine on a bus near the border crossing in Korczowa, Poland. AP Photo

A Ukrainian soldier and a militia man help a fleeing family on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 5, 2022. AP Photo

Smoke rises after shelling by Russian forces in Mariupol. AP Photo

People at a hospital during shelling by Russian forces in Mariupol. AP Photo

Displaced Ukrainians at the Resurrection New Athos Monastery in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. AFP

Live updates: follow the latest news on Russia-Ukraine

Fifa has postponed Ukraine's World Cup play-off semi-final against Scotland.

The nations were slated to meet at Hampden on March 24 but Ukraine requested last week that the world governing body push back the tie following Russia's invasion of its country.

A new date must now be found in the international calendar, with the Nations League window in June an option. However, Wales' game with Austria will be staged as planned on March 24.

Fifa had already banned Russia from the 2022 World Cup but risk an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The World Cup finals take place from November 21-December 18 in Qatar, the first time football's global showpiece will be held in the Middle East.

It follows Monday's announcement by Fifa that foreign players and coaches working in Russia and Ukraine will be allowed to temporarily suspend their contracts and move elsewhere.

Sports bodies have barred Russia from international competition following the invasion of Ukraine and Fifa said the new measures were designed "to facilitate the departure of foreign players and coaches from Russia" should they wish to leave.

A Ukrainian serviceman stands near captured Russian tanks, one painted in the colours of the Ukrainian national flag and the other marked with the letter 'Z' in the north of the Kharkiv region, Ukraine. Reuters

Russian military vehicles with the letter 'Z' painted on them. Reuters

French Air Force jets patrol airspace over Poland. Nicolas Tucat / AFP

The patrol is part of Nato's surveillance system. Photo by Nicolas Tucat / AFP

The German-flagged 'Seacod' oil tanker moored at Birkenhead Docks near the Stanlow Oil Refinery in the UK.

A woman holds the hand of a child as they flee Ukraine. AP Photo / Markus Schreiber

A young woman clutches a doll as she crosses the border in Medyka, Poland. AP Photo / Markus Schreiber

A woman weeps after finding a friend at the border crossing in Medyka. AP Photo / Markus Schreiber

People walk with their belongings as they flee Ukraine. AP Photo / Markus Schreiber

Ukrainian refugees arrive at Berlin central station, Germany, from Poland on March 4. EPA / Filip Singer

Russian troops entered Ukraine on February 24, prompting the country's president to declare martial law and triggering a series of announcements by western countries to impose severe economic sanctions on Russia. EPA / Filip Singer

Military vessels docked at the military harbour of Constanta, Romania, on March 4. Daniel Mihailescu / AFP

A child plays with a pigeon during a protest in San Jose, Costa Rica, against the Russian invasion in Ukraine. Ezequiel Becerra / AFP

Ukrainian citizens in San Jose, Costa Rica, protest against the Russian invasion in Ukraine on March 4. Ezequiel Becerra / AFP

People fleeing Ukraine wait to board a bus in Palanca Village, Moldova. EPA / Dumitru Doru

Ukrainians living in Britain join a protest at Trafalgar Square, London. EPA / Andy Rain

Ludmila Shkarupa, 73, from Ukraine, sits on a chair wrapping herself with a sleeping bag to avoid the cold at the border crossing in Medyka, Poland. AP

A view shows a thermal power plant destroyed by shelling amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine in the town of Okhtyrka in the Sumy region. Reuters

People fleeing Russia's invasion of Ukraine use mobile devices in a temporary refugee centre located at a local track-and-field athletics stadium in Chisinau, Moldova. Reuters

A local resident walks past the remains of a house of culture following a night air raid in the village of Byshiv, 40 kilometres west of Kyiv, Ukraine. AP

A member of the Ukrainian military guards an evacuation train of women and children who fled fighting in Bucha and Irpin. Getty Images

A member of the Ukrainian military gives instructions to women and children that fled fighting in Bucha and Irpin before boarding an evacuation train to Kyiv after heavy fighting overnight forced many to leave their homes. Getty Images

A person demonstrates outside the Russian embassy in London following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Reuters

The Danish rescue group Falck A/S has donated 30 ambulances to Ukraine and neighbouring countries, where they will be used by local emergency services. AFP

An aerial view of the remains of the local house of culture following a night air raid in the village of Byshiv, 40 kilometres west of Kyiv, Ukraine. AP

People fleeing Russia's invasion of Ukraine rest in a temporary refugee centre located at a local track-and-field athletics stadium in Chisinau, Moldova. Reuters

Ukrainian Oleg, who decided to remain in Irpin, comforts his son, Maksim, and his wife, Yana, before the arrival of an evacuation train to the city of Kyiv. EPA

Yevghen Zbormyrsky, 49, runs in front of his burning house after being shelled in the city of Irpin, outside Kyiv. AFP

People remove personal belongings from a burning house after being shelled in Irpin. AFP

Medical workers tend to a Ukrainian serviceman wounded during the fighting with Russian troops near the Ukrainian capital, in a hospital in Kyiv. AFP

A mother of a wounded Ukrainian serviceman waits outside his ward in a hospital in Kyiv. AFP

Refugees from Ukraine arrive at an assistance point organised in the sports hall of a primary school in Lubycza Krolewska in Poland. EPA

A member of Ukraine's Territorial Defence Forces at a checkpoint in Kyiv. Reuters

People carry their belongings past the debris of last week's combat in Kyiv. AFP

Shelves in a supermarket stand empty in Bila Tserkva, Ukraine. Reuters

War refugees from Ukraine at the assistance point organised at the Torwar sports hall in Warsaw, Poland. EPA

Ukrainian servicemen, wounded during the fighting with Russian troops near the Ukrainian capital, rest outside a hospital in Kyiv. AFP

A 3-year-old boy watches cartoons on a tablet while his mother sews military vests for the Ukrainian army in the western city of Lviv. AFP

A woman's shock as she stands in front of a house burning after being shelled in Irpin, outside Kyiv. AFP

People fleeing from Ukraine queue to board on a bus at the border crossing in Medyka, Poland. AP

Ukrainian refugees are tested for Covid-19 in a reception centre in Vienna, Austria. AFP

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg pose with foreign ministers after a meeting at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. Reuters

People who fled Ukraine wait for a bus to take them to the train station in Przemysl, at the border crossing in Medyka, Poland. AP Photo

The extraordinary meeting of Nato ministers of foreign affairs about Russian aggression in Ukraine at Nato headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. EPA

Messages in support of Ukraine on a board in the Ukrainian pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai. AFP

Firefighters at a warehouse that caught fire after shelling in the village of Chaiky in the Kyiv region. Reuters

The wreckage of a missile at a bus terminal in Kyiv. Reuters

A crater in front of a house damaged by shelling in the village of Hatne. Reuters

The damaged administrative building of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Enerhodar, a city in the Zaporizhzhia region. Reuters

A bright object lands on the grounds of Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Enerhodar, Ukraine, during heavy shelling by Russian forces. AP

Zlata, 3, with her face painted in the colours of the Ukrainian flag, stands on the Romanian side of the border with Ukraine after fleeing the country. AP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends an interview with foreign media in Kyiv. Reuters

Ukrainian artillerymen maintain their position in the Luhansk region. AFP

Women and children try to board a train bound for Lviv, at a station in Kyiv. AP

US soldiers on patrol near a military camp in Arlamow, Poland, near the border with Ukraine. AFP

A woman and child look out the window of a train at a station in Kyiv. AP

A descendant of Ukrainian immigrants attends Mass at a Ukrainian Orthodox church in Canoas, Brazil. Reuters

Boxes of donations destined for Ukraine at the St Michael's Ukrainian Catholic Church in Montreal, Canada. AP

Firefighters battle a blaze at a damaged building in the Ukrainian city of Chernihiv after a Russian air raid. AP

A woman in Frankfurt, Germany, attends a protest against Russia's military offensive in Ukraine. AFP

"Foreign players and coaches will have the right to unilaterally suspend their employment contracts until the end of the season in Russia [June 30]," Fifa said in a statement.

"Players and coaches will be considered 'out of contract' until 30 June 2022 and will therefore be at liberty to sign a contract with another club without facing consequences of any kind."

The contacts will be suspended until the end of this season allowing players and coaches to work elsewhere, and they would then be free to move on permanently next season.

Fifa said the move was chiefly to provide players and coaches with the opportunity to work and receive a salary, and to protect Ukrainian clubs brought to a halt by invasion.

Minor players fleeing Ukraine will be treated by Fifa as refugee minors, allowing them access to the international transfer market normally closed to under 18s.