FIFA and UEFA suspend all Russian football teams from competition after invasion of Ukraine

All Russian football teams have been handed an indefinite ban from international football following the invasion of Ukraine, UEFA and FIFA have announced.

The decision means Russia will not be allowed to take part in this year’s World Cup, having hosted the previous tournament in 2018.

UEFA have also ended their £40million-a-year sponsorship with Russian state-owned energy firm Gazprom as Russia’s sporting exile continues.

The governing bodies have been under immense pressure from members and politicians to take action against Russia following their military action in Ukraine, which began last Thursday.

FIFA were roundly condemned after their decision to allow the Russian national team to continue participation in upcoming fixtures under the name Football Union of Russia, without their national flag or anthem present.

International football associations, including The FA and Scottish FA had stated that they would not face Russian sides at any level for the foreseeable future, while Poland had refused to play their upcoming World Cup Qualifier next month.

Following calls from the International Olympic Committee to ban all Russian and Belarusian athletes from worldwide sporting contests, FIFA and UEFA have taken more decisive action.

Belarus, under president Alexander Lukashenko, have played a supporting role in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and are also facing sanctions from the UK government.

In a joint statement, FIFA and UEFA said: "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