"In Russia and Qatar, as well as in the whole world, live people who adore football. Boycotts or deprivations have never led to a solution. If there are problems, we have to deal with them, go through them and discuss them. We have to move forward," Infantino told the Spiegel magazine.
Infantino stressed that FIFA had its own doping testing system and that during FIFA 2010 and 2014 World Cups probes had been taken by FIFA itself, not by the organizers.
"In 2018, they [the doping tests] will not be carried out by Russia, they will be conducted by FIFA. If something goes wrong, then it is our responsibility and our guilt. But we are confident that our anti-doping measures will work," Infantino added.
Earlier in the day, reports emerged that FIFA Ethics Committee had launched the official investigation in relation to Vitaly Mutko, Russia's former sports minister, following the presentation of the second part of a report by WADA commission led by Canadian sports law professor Richard McLaren on alleged doping manipulations in Russian sport.
The Committee has denied the reports.
