As the diplomatic row between Moscow and London deepens, a Russian official accuses the West of trying to undermine the World Cup. Russian authorities say the UK is leading an anti-Russia campaign, by blaming the government for the poisoning of a Russian former spy. Our correspondent Julia Chapman has more from Moscow.

JULIA CHAPMAN MOSCOW In an interview to a Russian television channel, foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said she believes the deeply-held dream of some western countries is to deprive Russia of the World Cup. 12 cities across Russia are hosting the tournament this summer. Zakharova says several countries tried to create obstacles for Russia when it was bidding for the event, accusing the country of having racism and corruption problems, and she said 'their minds are only on that football and god forbid it touches a Russian field.' British royals and some officials have decided not to attend the World Cup as part of the British response to the poisoning of Russian double agent Sergei Skripal, which the UK government accuses Russia of orchestrating. But there has been no suggestion that the England team will boycott the championship. Previously, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson had likened Russia's World Cup to the Olympics in Nazi Germany in 1936. Zakharova took issue with this comparison and spoke at length in her weekly press briefing about how British officials had still attended those Olympics.

Meanwhile Russian diplomats expelled from the US landed back in Moscow today. Over the next few days we're expecting a number of foreign diplomats to leave Moscow after the Russian foreign ministry announced their expulsion as the tit for tat measures go back and forth between Russia and a number of western countries. Julia Chapman, CGTN, Moscow.