FIFA suspends Russia from World Cup, UEFA throws teams out of European competition

Russia have been kicked out of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar by FIFA after the world governing body and the European association, UEFA, issued a joint statement to confirm that all Russian national teams and clubs have been suspended until further notice following the invasion of Ukraine.

Amid growing pressure from European nations and the International Olympic Committee, FIFA and UEFA confirmed on Monday that Russia would have no involvement in the upcoming World Cup playoffs — Russia were due to play Poland in a semifinal ahead of a potential final against Sweden or Czech Republic in March — and that the Russia women's team would be removed from the European Championships due to be staged in England in July.

Spartak Moscow have also been removed from the Europa League, meaning round of 16 opponents RB Leipzig will be handed a bye to the quarterfinals of the competition.

In a further move, UEFA confirmed that it was cancelling its deal with sponsors Gazprom — the Russian energy company — which is worth €40 million a year to the organisation.

UEFA's decision comes after Saint Petersburg was stripped of the hosting rights to this season's Champions League final, with Paris stepping in following the move to take the showpiece fixture away from the Russian city.

In a 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 participation in both FIFA and UEFA competitions until further notice.

»These decisions were adopted today by the Bureau of the FIFA Council and