Russia has also been banned from football. The Russian national team will have to definitively renounce the next World Cup in Qatar scheduled for this year, as decided today by the Fifa. In Europe, however, the Uefa has decided to suspend all Russian clubs from the European cups. As long as the conflict does not cease, explain the leaders of FIFA and Uefa, Russia will not be able to participate in the World Cup playoffs scheduled for 24 and 29 March. While Spartak Moscow will not be able to take the field against Leipzig for the eighth of the Europa League. Only yesterday 27 February, the World Football Association had tried to react to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, on the one hand condemning the actions of the Kremlin, on the other hand, however, allowing the Russian national team to continue to take the field for the qualifications of the World Cup. Fifa’s punishment would have included the change of the name of the national team, which could no longer be called Russia, the obligation to play home games on a neutral pitch and behind closed doors, without the possibility of using one’s flag and the national anthem. . A decision greeted with irritation especially by the Polish Football Federation, which together with the Czech and Swedish ones had already made it known that they would not take the field against Russia for the World Cup qualifying playoffs. In short, for the Poles it would not have been enough to change the name of the national team to accept what is happening in Ukraine.
The International Olympic Committee, which banned athletes from Russia and Belarus, is much more decisive. In addition, the IOC has withdrawn the honor of the Olympic Order from the Russian president Vladimir Putin. The IOC’s recommendation to world federations is “not to invite Russian and Belarusian athletes” to international sports competitions. If this is not possible for “time or legal reasons”, the Olympic Committee calls for “ensuring that no Russian or Belarusian athlete or sports official can take part under the name of Russia or Belarus. Russian or Belarusian citizens, be they individual or team, should only be accepted as neutral, without anthems and flags ”.
