World Cup hosts Russia will face Croatia in the
quarter-finals on Saturday, probably without the support of Russian
President Vladimir Putin who is not expected to attend the match in
Sochi.
It does not fit into his busy schedule, the Kremlin has said.
Putin has only attended one World Cup match, when Russia emphatically
beat Saudi Arabia 5-0 in the tournament's opener.
As the Russian goals flew in he was televised making a sort of
apologetic "oops" gesture to the visiting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed
bin Salman in what became a popular internet meme.
Since then Putin has been conspicuous by his absence as Russia have
reached the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time in the
country's post-Soviet history.
Putin congratulated head coach Stanislav Cherchesov by phone after
Russia beat much higher ranked Spain in the last 16.
But it was Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and his deputy, Vitaly
Mutko, the former head of the Russian Football Union, who were at the
match.
Many observers had expected Putin to not miss out on opportunities to
appear at football's most prestigious tournament.
This year's World Cup was to be among the best in history, Putin has
said, suggesting that the world should get to know Russia as a
hospitable, happy and lovable country.
It was expected that the sports-minded judoka and ice-hockey fan, who
has previously appeared so keen to show off his physical prowess,
would enjoy the spotlight.
He has been a visible presence, just not at matches.
Putin met with FIFA chief Gianni Infantino for a friendly show of
admiration for the sport at a football park on the Red Square, even
scoring a goal for the cameras.
And on Friday in the Kremlin, he met with Infantino once again and
several football legends, including former Germany midfielder,
European Footballer of the Year and World Cup winner, Lothar
Matthaeus.
His absence from the stadiums is explained not as a dereliction of
duty but the complete opposite: a dedication to his job.
The argument goes that while Russians and the thousands of foreign
fans celebrate this month-long party, Putin the "galley slave" is
hard at work for the country.
Putin has been meeting with foreign dignitaries such as US national
security adviser John Bolton in preparation for a summit with US
President Donald Trump on July 16, the day after the World Cup final.
He has also been talking with his South Korean counterpart, Moon Jae
In, about the situation on the Korean Peninsula. And during Russia's
second match, against Egypt, Putin was in Minsk with his Belarusian
counterpart Alexander Lukashenko.
Internet commenters believe that Putin skipped the match against
Spain because no one expected the Russian side to win.
That's supposedly why Medvedev was sent instead, a blogger who goes
by the name SerpomPo wrote on the website of the opposition-leaning
radio station Ekho Moskvy. "Putin should believe in the national
team. Always. And not hide."
An expert in domestic politics in Moscow, Andrei Kolesnikov, believes
that Putin does not want to assume political responsibility for a
failure in sport.
"But he could come to the final to host the cosmopolitan event,"
Kolesnikov said.
FIFA chief Infantino expressed hope to Russian state media that Putin
will come, not only to the final, but to other matches.