FIFA and UEFA suspend Russian teams from international and European football

FIFA and UEFA have both suspended Russian football teams from competitions until further notice.

FIFA have held discussions over the situation following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last week. A suspension means Russia will be banned from participating in World Cup 2022 qualifying. Russia are due to play Poland in the first round of the World Cup qualifying play-offs on March 24. However, Poland were one of a number of nations that announced that they would refuse to play Russia following their attack on neighbours Ukraine.

FIFA had previously stated that it would be monitoring developments between Russia and Ukraine before considering banning them from international competition. The events of recent days appear to have forced their hand.

UEFA has also met this evening to decide whether Russia should be banned from international competition. Those talks have confirmed that Russia’s women’s team can no longer compete at Euro 2022 – a tournament they have already qualified for.

With the women’s team kicked out of the competition, due to be held in England from June this year, another team could be offered the chance to take their place. Russia defeated Portugal in a play-off to reach Euro 2022, meaning Portugal could be granted a place in the tournament instead of Russia.

It is currently unclear exactly what these suspensions would mean for Russia’s football teams, however, or whether the ruling could be reversed should the situation de-escalate in the coming days.

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