FIFA and UEFA ban Russia from all games as war rages in Ukraine

28 February 2022, 17:43 | Updated: 28 February 2022, 19:06

FIFA and UEFA have suspended Russia from all competitions. Picture: Alamy

By Megan Hinton

FIFA and UEFA have suspended Russian clubs and national teams from all competitions, amid Putin's invasion into Ukraine.

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Continental bosses UEFA and global governors FIFA have made the joint decision on a temporary expulsion for Russia from all club and national fixtures.

The Russian men's team will not play in the World Cup play-off matches in March and the women's team have been banned from the European Championship in summer.

Both UEFA and FIFA have removed Russia from all fixtures until "football can again be a vector for unity and peace amongst people".

A joint FIFA and UEFA statement on Monday evening said: "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.

"Football is fully united here and in full solidarity with all the people affected in Ukraine.

"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.

"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."

UEFA also announced the end of its sponsorship with Russian energy giant Gazprom, worth around £34million a season, following in oil giant Shell's footsteps.

In a separate statement, the governing body said: "UEFA has today decided to end its partnership with Gazprom across all competitions," read a UEFA statement.

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

Poland previously threatened over the weekend to boycott a match scheduled for Thursday, March 24 in Moscow, in support of Ukraine.

It comes after the International Olympic Committee recommended that Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials are banned from any competitions.

Spartak Moscow's removal from the Europa League will hand RB Leipzig direct progression into the European second-tier competition's quarter-finals.

Formula One's governing body is set to stage an emergency meeting on Tuesday to discuss the crisis in Ukraine.

It is understood that the future of F1's sole Russian driver Nikita Mazepin is set to top the agenda.

The president of the the Automobile Federation of Ukraine, Leonid Kostyuchenk, has demanded the FIA bans all Russian and Belarusian drivers from competing outside of their own countries.

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who will chair Tuesday's summit, wrote to Kostyuchenk last week to offer his full support.