FIFA suspends Russia from World Cup finals, UEFA expels teams from European competition

Russia was expelled from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar by FIFA after the European Union and European Union issued a joint statement confirming that all Russian national teams and clubs were suspended until further notice. Invasion of Ukraine.

Amid mounting pressure from European countries and the International Olympic Committee, FIFA and UEFA confirmed on Monday that Russia will not participate in the upcoming World Cup qualifiers – Russia was due to play Poland in the semi-finals ahead of a possible final against Sweden or the Czech Republic. Republic in March – and that the Russian women’s team will be excluded from the European Championships scheduled to be held in England in July.

Spartak Moscow has also been excluded from the European League, which means that rivals RB Leipzig in the round of 16 will advance to the quarter-finals of the competition.

In another step, UEFA confirmed that it had canceled its deal with its sponsors, Russia’s energy company Gazprom, which amounts to 40 million euros annually to the organization.

UEFA’s decision comes after Saint Petersburg was stripped of the rights to host this season’s Champions League final, with Paris intervening in the wake of the move to banish the final from the Russian city.

In a statement, FIFA and UEFA said: “Following the preliminary decisions adopted by the FIFA Council and the UEFA Executive Committee, providing for the adoption of additional measures, FIFA and UEFA together decided today that all Russian teams, whether national team or club teams, will be suspended from participation In both FIFA and UEFA competitions until further notice.

“These decisions were adopted today by the Bureau of the FIFA Council and the UEFA Executive Committee, which are respectively the highest decision-making bodies of both institutions on such urgent matters.

“Football is completely united here and in full solidarity with all affected people in Ukraine. Both presidents hope that the situation in Ukraine will improve significantly and quickly so that football will once again become a driving force for unity and peace among people.”

Commenting on the decision to sever ties with Gazprom, UEFA said: “Today, UEFA decided to end its partnership with Gazprom in all competitions.

“The decision is effective immediately and covers all existing agreements including the UEFA Champions League, UEFA national team competitions and UEFA EURO 2024.”