Croatia's Vida available for England clash despite pro-Ukraine video

Domagoj Vida can play against England in Wednesday's World Cup semi-final despite breaching FIFA's laws against political statements, as reported by BBC Sport.

FIFA said it issued a warning to the Croatia defender, but coach Ognjen Vukojevic - who was Vida's teammate at Ukrainian powerhouse Dynamo Kyiv - was sent home by Croatia's football federation (HNS) for the same violation.

The pair released a video on social media after Saturday's quarter-final win over Russia, in which Vida said "glory to Ukraine" and Vukojevic added: "This victory is for Dynamo (Kyiv) and for Ukraine! Croatia onwards!"

The video threatened to heighten tensions between Ukraine and World Cup host Russia. The latter annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014 and has supported separatist forces in the Donbass region of Ukraine.

HNS said both Vida and Vukojevic apologised for their actions and insisted they did not intend to be political messages, according to Reuters, but "unfortunately left room for such interpretations." HNS also issued its own apology to the Russian public.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Croatian national team refused to entertain questions about the situation when Mario Mandzukic and Andrej Kramaric faced the media on Monday.

This isn't the first time that players have been disciplined for political statements at this World Cup. Earlier in the tournament, Switzerland's Xherdan Shaqiri, Granit Xhaka, and Stephan Lichtsteiner were all fined by FIFA for using a "double eagle" salute - representing the Albanian flag - to celebrate during a 2-1 victory over Serbia.