World soccer continues to take measures amid theRussia invasion on Ukraine. First, UEFA have decided to remove the 2021-22 Champions League final from Saint Petersburg, moving the game to France.
In Germany, Schalke 04cut ties with Russian company Gazprom, who used to be the club’s main sponsor. Additionally, three European football associations have released a joint statement refusing to play in Russia in the 2022 World Cup Qualifying playoffs.
On Monday, FIFA and UEFA have gone even further by deciding to suspend all Russian teams from participating in their competitions until further notice. Here, check out the official statement.
UEFA/FIFA suspend Russian teams from all competitions
“Following the initial decisions adopted by the FIFA Council and the UEFA Executive Committee, which envisaged the adoption of additional measures, 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.
“These decisions were adopted today by the Bureau of the FIFA Council and the Executive Committee of UEFA, respectively the highest decision-making bodies of both institutions on such urgent matters.
“Football is fully united here and in full solidarity with all the people affected in Ukraine. Both Presidents hope that the situation in Ukraine will improve significantly and rapidly so that football can again be a vector for unity and peace amongst people.“
As a result, the Russian men’s national team would not play the Qatar 2022 World Cup, while the women’s national squad miss the European Women’s Football Championships. In addition,Spartak Moscow have been removed fromthe 2021-22 Europa League.
Russia’s men’s side were originallyset to face Poland on March 24, and the winner would host either Sweden or the Czech Republic on March 29 for a place in the 2022 World Cup. Meanwhile,Russia’s women’s team were scheduledto face Switzerland, Netherlands,and Sweden in the 2022 Euro group stage. Moreover,Spartak Moscow were expected to play againstRB Leipzig, who will instead get a bye through to the next round of the Europa League.
However, it’s important to note that this measure is until further notice,so it remains to be seen whether UEFA and FIFA lift the suspension before the World Cup and the women’s Euros. It might depend on how theconflict continues.
