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The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) declined calls on revoking Russia of hosting the 2018 World Cup due to alleged involvement in the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 crash.

FIFA president Joseph "Sepp" Blatter rejected calls from German lawmakers asking them to relocate the World Cup from Russia after citing the country's purported participation in the shooting down of Flight MH17 over the Ukrainian borders which killed 298 people.

In a statement, FIFA questioned the purpose of hosting the tournament elsewhere and pointed out that throughout history, boycotting sporting events are "not the most effective ways to solve problems."

FIFA further said that hosting the World Cup could further lead to "constructive dialogue between people and governments."

During the finals of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil last July 13 at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Russian President Vladimir Puttin was in attendance to watch the game between Germany and Argentina. Before the game, a ritual handover ceremony was performed where Brazil President Dilma Rousseff handed the Russian President a signed certificate.

Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko, member of the executive committee of FIFA, said that having the World Cup in Russia "can be a force for good" which FIFA believes as well.

Russia has announced a US$ 20 billion budget in the construction and renovation of 12 stadiums that will be hosted in 11 cities but may encounter problems since the European Union (EU) sought to freeze assets Friday and restricted travel, including business ventures in the country. EU ambassadors also suggested in a meeting that Russia's financial institutions should be restricted access to European capital markets.

Mutko said that "sports should be outside politics," which FIFA has stated so many times before and that events like the World Cup are for the athletes from around the world and its football fans.

TagsDilma Rousseff, Joseph Blatter, Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, Malaysia Airlines