Nearly two months afterRussian troops invadedUkrainian territory, little has changed in a conflict that threatensthe world order. That’s why UEFA not only extended its suspension of Russian clubs from all international competitions but announced new sanctions as well.
On February 28,the Europeangoverning body and FIFA announcedthe removal ofall Russian teams from theircompetitions until further notice. In relation to that statement, UEFA announced a new series of sanctions on Russian soccer.
One of the most notable measures is that Russian clubs will remainexcluded from Champions League, Europa League,Conference League, Women’s Champions League, and Youth League action in the 2022-23 season, while the country’s bids to host the Men’s Euro 2028 and 2032 have been rejected.
UEFA announces new sanctions on Russian teams
The Scottish champions will claim the 2022-23Champions League group stage spot that was supposed forRussian league winners as part of the updated qualifying process for UEFA club tournaments.
Besides the sanctions related to club competition, the string of new decisions will also have an impact on Russia’s national teams. While Portugal will take theirplace in the Women’sEuro 2022, the men’s national side will be automatically ranked 4th in the2022-23 UEFA Nations League group stage and therefore be relegated to League C.
On top of that, Russia arealso eliminated from the2023 Women’s World Cup qualifiers and the 2021-23European U-21 championship, with all their results until now considerednull and void.
Additionally, the bids submitted by Russia to hostthe 2028 and 2032 Men’s Euros were also declared ineligible because of the Russian government’s behavior regarding the Ukraine invasion and also because the host nation must be granted an automatic place inthe tournament in question, something that UEFA can’t guarantee as long as the suspension isn’t lifted.