FIFA and UEFA announced Monday that Russia would not be allowed to participate in the upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar as well as other international tournaments. The banning lasts all the way through to the UEFA EURO 2024. This comes after the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
Russia was set to play Poland on March 24. Poland and the two teams in the other European World Cup Qualifiers (Sweden and Czech Republic) all said they would not play against Russia if they were not banned. This comes just four years after hosting the 2018 World Cup. It also comes after Saint Petersberg was stripped of hosting rights for this season’s Champions League final.
This doesn’t include the Russian Women’s team. UEFA and FIFA will decide if they will be allowed to play in any international competitions for the time being. This includes the 2023 Women’s World Cup and the Women’s EURO Championship this summer.
Russia Banned From the 2022 FIFA World Cup
The International Olympic Committee called for the banning of Russia and Belarus from every international sports league. The IOC said that these leagues need to “protect the integrity of global sports competitions and for the safety of all the participants.” However, the IOC has not taken out the Russian or Belarus Paralympic athletes citing that it was “not possible on short notice for organizational or legal reasons…”
Other sports leagues have also moved to ban Russian athletes from upcoming events as well. The International Ice Hockey Federation has suspended all Russian and Belarus athletes from competing at the world championships. The World Curling Federation has stated that they plan on removing Russian athletes from their World competition this year.
The Russian Football team was set to play under the “Football Union of Russia” (RFU) banner with no home games and no Russian flags. This was the same, as they have had in the past three Olympics going under the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) and no Russian flags. The only difference between the two is that that was due to a doping scandal, not an invasion.
This ban also includes the clubs from Russia as well. Spartak Moscow has been removed from the Europa League for this season. Their opponent, RB Leipzig, has been given a bye and will automatically move on to the quarterfinals. Russian Energy company Gazprom has had its sponsorship rescinded. FIFA has not said if they will replace Russia in their game against Poland or just give Poland a bye to the finals.
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