FIFA kicks Russia out of World Cup 2022 over Ukraine invasion

Fifa has suspended Russia from the World Cup while the country continues its invasion of Ukraine.

World football’s governing body faced fierce criticism for its announcement on Sunday that Russia was still allowed to play a qualification play-off match against Poland at the end of March provided the team use a different name — “Football Union of Russia (RFU)” — and play in a neutral venue with no fans and no flags.

But following intense pressure from Poland, whose Football Association has repeatedly stated its intention to boycott the match, which was followed by refusal from countries across Europe to play Russia, Fifa, in conjunction with European football’s governing body Uefa, has changed its stance and suspended all Russian teams from international competition.

A joint statement from Fifa and Uefa on Monday read: “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.

“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.

“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 change in stance also comes after the International Olympic Committee made recommendations on Monday that included Russian athletes and teams being banned from international competition while the invasion of Ukraine continued. It means that, as things stand, Russia will not compete in the women’s European Championships this summer.

The French Football Federation also joined the calls for Russia to be expelled. And following Fifa’s weak stance on Sunday, the Polish FA wrote to all football federations in Europe asking for support.

“We call on the Fifa authorities to react immediately to the brutal violence that we observe daily on the territory of independent Ukraine,” the letter read. “If Fifa’s Human Rights Policy is more than just words on a paper, now is the time to put it into practice by excluding the Russian Football Association from the qualifiers for the World Cup in Qatar in 2022. We call for solidarity and support for our position.”

After the announcement was made, Cezary Kulesza, the president of the Polish Football Association, tweeted: “Fifa has suspended Russia! Fighting for the right case was effective! We have shown that strength is in solidarity. We just acted right. Now it is about helping Ukraine, which we will be doing as the Polish Football Association. #SolidarityWithUkraine.”

The English FA announced on Sunday that all England teams would refuse to play Russia for the foreseeable future. The men’s and women’s senior teams do not currently have matches scheduled with Russia this year.

Before Fifa adopted a harder line on Russia, at least seven other Associations, including the Republic of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, had said they would not play the country.

Fifa’s approach had appeared particularly weak in comparison to Uefa. Shortly after Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered the start of the invasion, the European football governing body announced it had stripped the Champions League final from St Petersburg.

And as reported by i last week, Uefa’s lawyers set to work on terminating a £33.5million-per-year sponsorship deal with Gazprom, the Russian state-owned energy company. Uefa has since confirmed that its agreement with Gazprom has now ceased.

“Uefa has today decided to end its partnership with Gazprom across all competitions,” a statement read. “The decision is effective immediately and covers all existing agreements including the Uefa Champions League, Uefa national team competitions and Uefa EURO 2024.”