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Kremlin Denies Plan to Ban Foreign Players From Russian Football

Vladimir Putin (R) meets with FIFA President Gianni Infantino at the FC Krasnodar Stadium, May 23, 2017. Alexei Druzhinin / Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP

The Kremlin has denied reports that Russia could soon clampdown on foreign football players joining the country's top teams.

Officials discussed the possibility of barring foreign players from Russia's Premier League during a meeting of the Presidential Sports Council on Tuesday, the Interfax news agency reported.

Presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov was quick to play down the proposals, telling reporters that the idea did not have Kremlin support.

Peskov said that Putin had acknowledged "difficulties in training Russian athletes," but insisted that "no-one spoke about any specific solutions."

Teams in Russia's Premier League are only allowed to have six foreign players on the pitch at any one time. The quota was last changed at the end of the 2014/2015 season.

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