THE PRIME Minister has said Ukraine should be "given a bye" and allowed in to the World Cup.
Speaking at the Nato headquarters in Brussels, Mr Johnson was asked if he thought the team should be allowed to bypass qualifiers to get an automatic place in the tournament.
While admitting football was not his "area of expertise", the Prime Minister said the suggestion "sounds like a good idea to me" adding: "But I'm out of area here. I've got to admit that's not my strong subject....I don't see why not."
Journalists then told Mr Johnson Ukraine was due to play against Scotland in order to qualify, at which point he seemed startled, and laughed "I'm not going to comment on that" before swiftly moving on to other questions.
The Prime Minister was in Brussels to meet other Nato leaders, as the conflict in Ukraine escalates.
He vowed to continue to support President Zelenskyy and provide additional weapons.
Earlier today the Kremlin said Mr Johnson was the "most anti-Russian" leader in the west, however he denied this accusation.
Mr Johnson said there was not "a single person around the table in NATO, or the G7 who is against Russians or the Russian people, absolutely not least of all me.
"I think I'm probably the only Prime Minister in UK history to be called Boris, I think I have that distinction and I'm not remotely anti-Russian."
He then explained: "What we all agree is that what Vladimir Putin is doing, the way he's leading Russia at the moment is utterly catastrophic, that his invasion of Ukraine is inhuman and barbaric And the conduct of that invasion is now moving into the type of behavior that, as I've said before, we haven't seen in the continent of Europe for 80 years.
"You can be sympathetic towards ordinary Russians, who have been so badly let down, but you can be deeply hostile to the decisions of Vladimir Putin, where he's leading his country."
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