Russia

FIFA, UEFA suspend Russian clubs and national team

By Darren Plant, Senior Reporter | 28 February 2022

FIFA and UEFA release a joint statement to say that they have suspended all Russian clubs and the national team from competing in their competitions.

FIFA and UEFA have agreed to suspend all Russian clubs and the national team from participating in their competitions with immediate effect.

Since Russia president Vladimir Putin declared war on Ukraine, there have been widespread decisions made on all levels, including in the sporting world.

Many national teams, including Russia's upcoming World Cup playoff opponents Poland, have stated that they will not participate in any fixture against the 2018 World Cup hosts.

On Sunday, FIFA failed to match the strength of message sent by many countries, instead only penalising Russia by saying that matches must take place on neutral venues and the national anthem and flags were not to be present.

However, 24 hours after that initial statement, FIFA and UEFA have responded by banning all Russian clubs and the national team for the foreseeable future.

A statement read: "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.

"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."

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has allegedly agreed to a request from Ukraine to try to negotiate a "peaceful resolution" between the relevant parties, a move taken due to his previous history with Putin.