FIFA and UEFA on Monday suspended Russia’s national teams and clubs from international soccer, as sports bodies around the world moved to bar Russian athletes from competing in international events in protest over the war in Ukraine.
The move makes it likely that Russia is to be excluded from this year’s FIFA World Cup and the women’s UEFA Euro 2020 tournament.
“FIFA and UEFA have today decided together that all Russian teams, whether national representative teams or club teams, shall be suspended from participation in both FIFA and UEFA competitions until further notice,” UEFA said in a statement.
Photo: EPA-EFE
In a statement, the Russian Football Federation said that it “categorically disagreed” with the decision, adding that the move was contrary to the “spirit of sports.”
UEFA also confirmed RB Leipzig had been given a walkover into the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals after their last-16 match with Spartak Moscow was called off.
The governing body also canceled its sponsorship deal with Russian energy company Gazprom.
Earlier on Monday, the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) executive board recommended that sports federations ban Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from competing in events.
The IOC said that its executive board made the decision “to protect the integrity of global sports competitions and for the safety of all the participants.”
The Russian Olympic Committee categorically disagreed with the IOC, saying that the decision “contradicts the regulatory documents of the IOC and the [Olympic] Charter.”
Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina said that she would not play against Russia’s Anastasia Potapova at the Monterrey Open, and refused to play against any Russian or Belarusian players until tennis’ governing bodies — the WTA and ATP — implement the IOC’s recommendations.
The IOC’s statement came shortly before the Winter Paralympics begin in Beijing on Friday. The International Paralympic Committee is to meet today to discuss Russia ahead of the Games.
The British Olympic Association and the National Olympic Committee of Germany demanded the immediate exclusion of Russia and Belarus from international sports.
World Rugby suspended Russia and Belarus from all international rugby and cross-border club rugby activities, and suspended the Rugby Union of Russia from World Rugby membership, in line with the IOC’s recommendation.
The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) also suspended all Russian and Belarusian national teams and clubs from its competitions until further notice.
The IIHF said that it also withdrew Russia’s hosting rights for the Dec. 26 to Jan. 5 World Junior Championship out of concern for the well-being of players, officials and fans.
The Badminton World Federation canceled all sanctioned tournaments in Russia and Belarus, saying that no other badminton tournaments would be allocated to those regions until further notice.
Swimming’s global governing body, FINA, called off the World Junior Swimming Championships that were to take place in Kazan, Russia, while the World Curling Federation began the process of removing the Russian federation’s entries from the World Championships.
Ukraine’s motorsports federation called on Formula One’s governing FIA to ban all Russian and Belarusian license holders from taking part in its competitions — if accepted, it could put Russia’s Nikita Mazepin out of the sport.
The International Equestrian Federation’s executive board called for all international events to be removed from Russia and Belarus.
Russian billionaire businessman Roman Abramovich, who owns Premier League soccer club Chelsea, has accepted a Ukrainian request to help negotiate an end to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Abramovich was asked by Ukraine to help mediate because of his background in Russia, where he made a fortune in the chaotic 1990s period of post-communist privatization, a source with knowledge of the matter said on condition of anonymity.
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