The Ukraine-Russia issue may be a political one but it is affecting everything and everyone. In the latest update, FIFA has banned Russia from participating in the Football World Cup. Russia has been expelled from the Football World Cup after being suspended from all international competitions “until further notice”, FIFA and UEFA announced in a joint statement on Monday.
The governing body of European football has also discontinued its association with Russian energy behemoth Gazprom. The men’s squad was to compete in the play-offs for the World Cup in Qatar later this year in March. The women’s team was to compete in the European Championship in England in July. Russian clubs competing in European events will also suffer from the announcement.
Suspended until further notice
“Following the initial decisions adopted by the FIFA Council and the UEFA Executive Committee, which envisaged the adoption of additional measures, FIFA and UEFA have today decided together that all Russian teams, whether national representative teams or club teams, shall be suspended from participation in both FIFA and UEFA competitions until further notice.”
How does it affect Russian football?
On March 24, the Russian men’s team was to meet Poland in a World Cup qualifying play-off semi-final; and on March 29, they might have faced Sweden or the Czech Republic for a spot in the finals in Qatar later this year. Their three probable opponents, on the other hand, have stated that they will boycott the matches. However, after negotiations, on Sunday, FIFA did allow the Russian team to participate but the opposition still stood strong on their stand. FIFA reversed its mind on Monday, excluding Russia from the tournament.
UEFA ended its partnership with ‘Gazprom’
Calling the action discriminatory, the Russian Football Union put out the statement saying; “It has an obvious discriminatory character and harms a huge number of athletes, coaches, employees of clubs and national teams, and most importantly, millions of Russian and foreign fans, whose interests international sports organizations must protect in the first place.”
UEFA with immediate effect has ended its partnership with one of its main sponsors ‘Gazprom’. Since 2012, Gazprom has been a major sponsor of UEFA; reportedly spending over 40 million euros per year in an arrangement that runs through 2024. Alexander Dyukov, the president of the Russian football association and the CEO of Gazprom Neft; the company’s petrol division, is a member of the UEFA executive committee. Last week, UEFA decided to move the Champions League final from Saint Petersburg, Russia, to Paris, France, on May 28.