LAUSANNE: The Court of Arbitration for Sport has refused to lift European football federation UEFA’s competitive ban on Russian teams pending a full hearing and judgment.

UEFA and world governing body FIFA had decided together that all Russian teams, whether national or club sides, be suspended from participation in their competitions until further notice after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Russian Football Union appealed to CAS but the president of the Appeals Arbitration Division denied a request to lift the ban until CAS takes a final decision.

CAS said: “The challenged decision remains in force and all Russian teams and clubs continue to be suspended from participation in UEFA competitions.”

The decision meant that Spartak Moscow could not play a scheduled Europa League tie with RB Leipzig, allowing the German club a bye into the quarter-finals.

The latest ruling applies only to UEFA competitions, with Russia still hoping to overturn a FIFA ban that would allow them to take part in World Cup qualifying playoff matches scheduled for the end of this month.

A decision on an interim lifting of that ban is expected later this week.

Russia were scheduled to host Poland in a World Cup qualifying playoff on March 24. If Russia remain suspended at that time, they would be out of the World Cup and unable to progress to the finals in Qatar in November.

The Polish FA had said that they will refuse to play against the Russian team and the Czech Republic and Sweden, who are in the same playoff path, had also ruled out facing Russia.

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