More Stringent Sanctions As FIFA, UEFA Ban Russian National Teams and Clubs Following Ukraine Invasion

More Stringent Sanctions As FIFA, UEFA Ban Russian National Teams and Clubs Following Ukraine Invasion

Chukwu Ikechukwu
updated at April 12, 2023 at 7:57 PM
  • FIFA and UEFA have decided that all Russian teams shall be suspended from participating in both competitions organized by both football bodies until further notice
  • Russia stands a major chance of missing out on qualifying for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar after getting banned from all footballing activities
  • A number of European associations said they would refuse to play against Russia, including the Polish, Swedish, and Czech football federations

FIFA and UEFA have banned the Russian national team and clubs from participating in all its competitions until further notice following the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

The football governing bodies made the announcement on Monday, February 28, after an emergency meeting of the bureau of the FIFA Council and the Executive Committee of UEFA.

More Stringent Sanctions As FIFA, UEFA Ban Russian National Teams and Clubs Following Ukraine Invasion
FIFA and UEFA have expelled Russia from the 2022 World Cup and its teams suspended from all international football competitions until further notice. Photo by VI-Images
Source: Getty Images

According to a report via Sky Sports, the decision taken means The Europa League last-16 matches between Spartak Moscow and RB Leipzig have been called off with the German club progressing to the quarter-finals.

The Russian national team will also be excluded from the upcoming World Cup qualifiers as they were scheduled to play Poland on March 25.

Mixed reactions trail FIFA and UEFA ban on Russia via Social Media

Meanwhile, football supporters and pundits have reacted to the indefinite banned placed on Russia by FIFA and UEFA.

Some have been in support and others have had a diverse opinion insinuating there is a double standard from FIFA and UEFA concerning the ban on Russia.

RajSpeakING called the FIFA ban on Russia a hypocritical one

Mighty George called calls the move by FIFA spot on while hoping Russia will be away from football for a long time.

Buchi_Lamba called the FIFA decision political.

The English FA and other European football federations had applied pressure on the football governing bodies to ban Russia following the war on Ukraine.

Spartak Moscow Issue Statement After Being Kicked Out of Europa League

Earlier, Sports Brief reported Spartak Moscow has responded following UEFA’s decision to remove them from the Europa League due to the invasion of Ukraine.

The Russian outfit were billed to take on German side RB Leipzig in the last 16 of the competition having won their group, but they have been withdrawn by UEFA.

The club admitted that they have no choice but to obey the verdict, stressing that they disagree with the decision.

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Chukwu Ikechukwu
Chukwu Ikechukwu Godwin is a journalist with over 9 years of experience in the Nigerian media industry. He has worked both in Radio (Today FM, Rhythm FM, Wish FM) and Television (Silverbird TV) as a Sports Analyst..
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