Berlin protests Russia's World Cup ban on German journalist

German journalist Hajo Seppelt had been refused a visa to attend the World Cup in Russia.

Football world governing body FIFA said that it had already validated Seppelt’s accreditation request.

Berlin protested Monday against Moscow's decision to ban from the World Cup a German journalist who broke the story on Russia's vast doping scandal, slamming the decision as “wrong”.

“We view this measure by the Russian authorities to invalidate (Hajo) Seppeln's visa as wrong. And we call on the Russian leadership to allow this German correspondent to enter the country to report on the football World Cup tournament,” said German government spokesman Steffen Seibert.