KEIR RADNEDGE REPORTING —- FIFA and UEFA have banished Russia from all international football, including the World Cup, as a result of the invasion of Ukraine.

The ground for the joint decision was laid when the International Olympic Committee, in an unprecedented ditching of its old excuse that sport and politics are not connected, recommended all sports to expel Russia from competition because of the invasion of Ukraine.

Within hours world federation FIFA and European governing body UEFA issued a statement sealing the expulsion of Russia albeit without even bothering to reiterate earlier condemnations of the military action.

The cancellation of Russia from the worldwide game had been foreshadowed in FIFA’s statement on Sunday night which endorsed the WADA-imposed no-anthem-no-flag restrictions but hinted at the possibility of expulsion as a result of ongoing talks among major sports bodies.

A statement said:

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

The Russian national team had been scheduled to host Poland in the World Cup’s European playoffs on March 24 and then, if they won, host Sweden or Czech Republic on March 29 with a place in the finals in Qatar at stake. All three opponent federations had stated they would not play against Russia, even in the initially-proposed neutral venue behind closed doors.

England, Republic of Ireland, Wales and Switzerland have also announced a refusal to allow their teams to play Russia at any level.

The earlier, ‘trigger’ statement from the IOC said: “In order to protect the integrity of global sports competitions and for the safety of all the participants, the IOC [executive board] recommends that International Sports Federations and sports event organisers not invite or allow the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials in international competitions.”

UEFA and its president Aleksander Ceferin had already switched the Champions League Final on May 28 from St Petersburg to the Stade de France in Saint-Denis. A major sponsorship with Russian energy giant Gazprom has been shut down and UEFA has also expelled Spartak Moscow from the Europa League, awarding a bye into the next round for RB Leipzig.

UEFA decisions

The joint decision also removes Russia’s from the UEFA Nations League and in Women’s European Championship in England in the summer.

Normally, expulsion from a competition prompts the victim federation to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport however the IOC and FIFA’s lawyers were confident their statutes contained sufficient provisions to act in such cases of force majeure.

Both presidents Thomas Bach of the IOC and Gianni Infantino of FIFA will breathe sighs of relief that the means are at hand to distance themselves from Russian leader Vladimir Putin with whom they have shared so many cosy, award-sharing photo-opportunities in the past.

On that note, the IOC has withdrawn the award to Putin and two other senior Russian sports officials of its highest accolade, the Olympic Order.

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