Soccer’s international governing body has decided to bar Russia’s national teams from international competitions, including the World Cup.
Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, FIFA has banned the country from all international competitions—including qualifying games for the 2022 World Cup.
In a joint statement, FIFA and UEFA announced that the ban will apply to the country’s men’s and women’s national teams, as well as any club teams competing in any FIFA or UEFA competitions.
"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," the statement read. "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 decision comes after Poland, Sweden and the Czech Republic all pledged to not play Russia in their upcoming World Cup qualifying matches. The International Olympic Committee had previously called for other international sports federations to bar Russian athletes from competing in all global sporting events wherever possible.
UEFA also announced that it had ceased its partnership with Gazprom, a Russian state-owned energy company whose deal was reportedly worth $40 million a year to the European governing body. German club Schalke also cut ties with its Gazprom sponsorship deal after taking the initial step of removing its name from the front of its jerseys.
The ban on Russian teams from international competitions will be indefinite. The 2022 World Cup is set to begin in Qatar in November, while the 2022 Women's European Championship is slated for July in England.
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