Fifa wants Russia to pay more than double what the country is willing to spend on broadcast rights for football’s 2018 World Cup in the country, according to Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko.
According to Russian news agency Tass, Mutko said that Fifa has asked for $110m (€97m) for the rights to the tournament, while Russian-backed media can only afford to pay between $38m and $40m.
Mutko added that television advertising income in Russia is lower than in other countries.
“The cost of one-minute advertising time is not as high as in other countries,” Mutko said.
A rights deal for last month’s Confederations Cup, a dress rehearsal for the World Cup in Russia, was only agreed with Fifa six days before the start of the tournament.
The agreement was struck with the 2SPORT2 consortium, which includes Russian broadcasters Channel One, VGTRK and Match TV.
The Associated Press news agency reported that Fifa wanted to bundle the rights deal with coverage of the 2018 World Cup, but the broadcasters refused to pay the asking price.