As Russia continues its invasion of Ukraine, various international sports organizations have begun imposing sanctions on the country and its athletes.
Below, we take a look at the governing bodies that have so far either suspended Russian teams from competitions or stripped the country of its right to host events. Football On Monday, FIFA and UEFA announced in a joint statement that they had suspended all Russian international and club teams from their competitions « until further notice. » Although there were no Russian teams remaining in UEFA’s men’s or women’s Champions League and men’s Conference League, Spartak Moscow’s match against RB Leipzig in the Europa League has been called off, with the German club now advancing to the quarterfinals as a result. On the international stage, FIFA’s jurisdiction over World Cup qualifiers means that, as it stands, Russia will not be able to play its World Cup playoff against Poland scheduled for March 24 — and could possibly miss out on football’s showpiece event as a result. « Football is fully united here and in full solidarity with all the people affected in Ukraine, » the joint statement read. « 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. » Rugby On Monday, World Rugby announced that it had suspended the Russia and Belarus national teams from « all international rugby and cross-border club rugby activities until further notice, » as well as suspending the Rugby Union of Russia’s World Rugby membership. Russia had not yet secured qualification to next year’s men’s Rugby World Cup. « World Rugby reiterates its condemnation of Russia’s aggressive invasion of Ukraine and the facilitation of this action by Belarus, » the statement read. « The global rugby family is united in standing in solidarity with everyone affected by these deeply disturbing events and joins the global community in calling for the restoration of peace. « The decision has been taken with the interests of rugby’s values of solidarity, integrity and respect at heart. World Rugby also remains in contact with colleagues at the Ukraine Rugby Federation and has pledged its full support to the rugby community in the country. » Ice hockey On Monday, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) suspended all of Russia’s and Belarus’ international and club teams at every age group from competing in all IIHF competitions or events. The IIHF said the decision impacts several tournaments, including May’s men’s world championships in Finland, where Russia and Belarus will no longer be able to compete.
