With retaliation talk against Russia rumbling into threats, could there really be a World Cup boycott?

It might seem like a long way from a provincial English town to Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium (which will host the opening game of this summer’s football World Cup). However, following the poisoning of Russian former double-agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter, the journey has been a short, fast, direct one. Along with bellicose talk and diplomatic retributions, the possibility of some countries boycotting this summer’s mega-event has rapidly risen-up the political agenda.

In Britain, the country’s perpetually boisterous foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, has suggested that if England play in the tournament, it will present Russian president Vladimir Putin with the same kind of propaganda opportunity afforded to Adolf Hitler by countries that participated in the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games.A unilateral boycott by England or any other country would be largely symbolic – a statement withdrawal rather than a measure that would affect positive behavioural change at the heart of Russian government. For there to be any meaningful or tangible impact upon Putin and Russia would require broader, more coordinated support. Whether or not this can be achieved remains to be seen.