Gary Lineker has said FIFA's request for him to meet Russian president Vladimir Putin made him "slightly uncomfortable" and said he made a conscious decision not to be associated with football's governing body.
Lineker, who hosted BBC shows including World Cup and European Championship coverage and Match of the Day until last season, said he didn't want to be "influenced from the inside" when it came to FIFA.
Speaking on his Stick to Football podcast, Lineker, who played in two World Cups with England, said he chose to move away from the organisation after doing the draw for the 2018 tournament, which was held in Russia.
"I'm quite interested in the politics and the politics of football as well but don't like necessarily like being involved with it. I made a the decision quite a few years ago to not be associated with FIFA in any way," Lineker said.
"Deliberately, particularly with the fact I'm in the media, whether it was when I worked with the BBC or even now doing this show, I think it's better if you're not influenced from the inside.
"I kept my distance deliberately, probably since the turn of this decade. Having done the World Cup draw for them in 2018, I remember they wanted me to meet Vladimir Putin, I thought I don't want to do that.
"I told them: 'Sorry I've got so much to do with the script, I'm trying to get it ready.'
"I felt it was a slightly uncomfortable position. I thought going down the line that it's probably better to distance myself, and I think it's probably proven [right] in hindsight."
FIFA and UEFA announced in a joint statement in February of 2022 that Russia had been expelled from the 2022 World Cup and its teams suspended from all international football competitions "until further notice" after President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
