FIFA and UEFA worked together to remove Russian teams from international football competitions on Monday as world sport closed its doors to Russia following the invasion of Ukraine.
The most powerful organizations in football have joined the International Olympic Committee in action after days of growing protests. Removal means Russia will not be able to face Poland in the semi-finals of the World Cup playoffs next month, while its women’s team will also be banned from the European Championship this summer in England and the remaining club team in the European competition Spartak Moscow is no more. to compete in the Europa League.
In a joint statement, the two organizations said: “FIFA and UEFA have today jointly decided that all Russian teams, whether national teams or club teams, be suspended from FIFA and UEFA competitions until further notice.
“These decisions were adopted today by the Bureau of the FIFA Council and the UEFA Executive Committee, respectively by the highest decision-making bodies of the two institutions on such urgent matters. Football here is fully united 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 once again be a vector of unity and peace between people.
UEFA has also announced a second major move, confirming that it has canceled a long and lucrative sponsorship deal with Gazprom. The Russian gas company has sponsored the Champions League for a decade, and the final of this year’s competition was to be played at Gazprom Arena in St. Petersburg.
Last week, however, UEFA moved the match to Paris and has now severed ties altogether. “UEFA has decided today to end its partnership with Gazprom in all competitions,” the statement said. “The decision takes effect immediately and covers all existing agreements, including the UEFA Champions League, UEFA national teams and Euro 2024.
On Sunday, FIFA said Russia could continue to compete in World Cup qualifiers if it changes its name and plays in neutral matches. The action, described by FIFA as taking “initial measures”, was fiercely repulsed by Poland, Russia’s opponents in the World Cup qualifiers. Poland’s position has been supported by a number of other European nations, including the football associations of England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland.
As pressure on FIFA increased on Monday, the change in direction was signaled by IOC intervention. Citing the Olympic Movement’s mission to “contribute to peace through sport and unite the world in peaceful competition beyond all political disputes”, the IOC issued a long resolution calling on all sports organizations to act.
“To protect the integrity of world sports competitions and the safety of all participants,” the resolution said. officials in international competitions ”.
However, the IOC has added a condition that could still mean that Russia is competing in the Winter Paralympic Games, which begin in Beijing this weekend. In situations where the short notice “for organizational or legal reasons” means that Russia and its ally in the invasion of Ukraine, Belarus, cannot be ruled out, they “should only be accepted as neutral athletes or neutral teams,” he said. IOC. This will be a sanction similar to the one applied to Russia at last year’s Tokyo Olympics, where “no national symbols, colors, flags or anthems should be displayed.”
The Ukrainian delegation for the Winter Paralympic Games is yet to arrive in Beijing for the invasion, and on Monday night the British Olympic Association called on Russian athletes to be banned from competing immediately.
“Together with the German National Olympic Committee, [we demand] the immediate exclusion of Russia and Belarus from the international sports family until further notice, “BOA said. “We call on the international sports federations to ban the competitions of athletes representing Russia and Belarus for the time being and to remove Russian and Belarusian officials from their positions.
Additional questions are likely to be asked now about the participation of Russian athletes in non-Russian teams, as well as in individual sports. One of the most striking examples is Daniil Medvedev, who took on the mantle of Novak Djokovic’s No. 1 men’s tennis player on Monday and issued a statement calling for peace over the weekend.
Seva Kevlich, a member of the Tennis Federation’s board, told Reuters that Medvedev should not be eligible to participate in Grand Slam matches. “I allow [Medvedev] “He plays in the ATP Tour, but the Grand Slam tournaments are ITF events, and if you lose the opportunity to play in the Grand Slam, he will never be number one in the world,” Kevlic said. “He should not play in the French Open, US Open and Wimbledon.
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Kevlich’s words reflect a broader, broader agenda for action against Russia, issued by Ukraine’s Ministry of Sports. Arguing that “Russian authorities use sporting achievements to propagate their own ideology” and as “a tool to promote the ideas of harassment, murder and destruction”, the ministry called not only for athletes to be excluded from the competition, but also for Russian officials to be removed from the governing bodies and Russian companies from the right to act as sponsors.