Rugby and badminton follow Fifa and Uefa as IOC calls for Russia sports ban

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The International Olympic Committee has urged other sports federations and organisers to exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from international events following Russia's attack on Ukraine.

World Rugby banned Russia and Belarus from all international rugby "until further notice" on Tuesday.

Russia's membership of World Rugby was also suspended indefinitely, meaning the country's slim hopes of qualifying for next year's World Cup in France are over.

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Monday also cancelled all sanctioned tournaments in Russia and Belarus, banned them from hosting future tournaments "until further notice" and ordered their flags and anthems banned from all BWF tournaments.

It follows a day after football's world governing body Fifa kicked Russia out of the 2022 World Cup to be held later this year in Qatar. Uefa, the organisation that runs European football, soon followed suit by expelling Russian national teams and clubs from all competitions.

Russia were due to take part in World Cup play-offs this month, but plans to play on neutral territory were dismissed as "unacceptable" by their rivals. Poland refused to play against Russia and the Czech Republic and Sweden, who are in the same playoff route, also ruled out playing Russia while the conflict in Ukraine continues.

"Football is fully united here and in full solidarity with all the people affected in Ukraine," Fifa and Uefa said in a statement.

The IOC, meanwhile, said it faced a "dilemma which cannot be solved".

"While athletes from Russia and Belarus would be able to continue to participate in sports events, many athletes from Ukraine are prevented from doing so because of