The UK is embroiled in an increasingly bitter row with Moscow after former Russian spy turned UK double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned with a nerve agent in Salisbury on March 4. The pair remain in hospital.

Prime minister Theresa May on Wednesday (March 14) said the UK would expel 23 Russian diplomats after Russia failed to explain how the Russian-made nerve agent Novichok came to be used in the attack on the Skripals.

However, amid rumours England could pull out of the World Cup, which starts on June 14, foreign secretary Boris Johnson on Thursday (March 15) said the government was not backing calls for a boycott.

Members of the Royal Family, including Football Association president Prince William, will not attend the World Cup, it has been confirmed.

The FCO this week refreshed its general travel advice for Russia making specific reference to the current political climate, and flagged its formal guidance for football fans planning to go to Russia this summer.

England will play Tunisia in Volgograd on June 18, Panama in Nizhny Novgorod on June 24, and Belgium in Kaliningrad on June 28.

While the FCO is warning against all travel to certain areas of Russia, including the Ukraine, Georgia and Azerbaijan borders, none of England’s three host cities are affected.

It has issued an 11-point checklist for fans to ensure they stay safe during the tournament.