The FIFA and UEFA on Monday, came to a decision to suspend all Russian clubs and the national teams of the country at all levels from all competitions, in the aftermath of the crisis in Ukraine. This comes days after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Earlier in the day, FIFA had imposed sanctions on the Russian national teams, making them compete in neutral venues and without any national flag and anthem. But with many calling for a complete ban, it seems that FIFA and UEFA have come to this conclusion in a bid to punish Russia more for their destruction in Ukraine so far. Russia-Ukraine Crisis: FIFA, UEFA Suspend Russian Clubs and National Teams From All Competitions
FIFA and UEFA, in a joint statement, announced, "Following the initial decisions adopted by the FIFA Council and the UEFA Executive Committee, which decisions 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 statement added.
With this development taking shape, now there seems to be a huge cloud of uncertainty over Russia's participation in the World Cup in Qatar, later this year.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 28, 2022 11:47 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).