Russia are scheduled to host Poland in a World Cup qualifying playoff on March 24 and if they remained suspended at that time, they would be out of the World Cup and unable to progress to the finals in Qatar in November.
File image (Source: Twitter)
FIFA and UEFA have suspended Russia’s national and club teams from all competitions until further notice due to the country’s invasion of Ukraine, the bodies said in a joint statement on Monday.
“Football is 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,” the statement read.
Russia are scheduled to host Poland in a World Cup qualifying playoff on March 24 and if they remained suspended at that time, they would be out of the World Cup and unable to progress to the finals in Qatar in November.
FIFA/UEFA suspend Russian clubs and national teams from all competitions
https://t.co/Q2htzW3W9z pic.twitter.com/LFo1bUtqmm
— FIFA Media (@fifamedia) February 28, 2022
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’, have also ruled out facing Russia. The suspension would cover all Russian national teams and could impact the country’s women’s team, who are due to play in UEFA’s Euro 2022 competition in England in July.
UEFA has today decided to end its partnership with Gazprom across all competitions.
The decision is effective immediately and covers all existing agreements including the UEFA Champions League, UEFA national team competitions and UEFA EURO 2024.
— UEFA (@UEFA) February 28, 2022
Earlier on Monday, the International Olympic Committee’s executive board recommended that international sports federations ban Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from competing in events.