Top sport court to hear Russian appeals over multiple bans in wake of Ukraine invasion

Russian federations and athletes have filed multiple legal challenges to fight their bans from international sports events because of their country waging war on Ukraine.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport said Tuesday that Russian officials have filed appeals against governing bodies in soccer, figure skating and speed skating, gymnastics, rowing, rugby and biathlon.

The figure skating appeal involves Olympic pairs silver medallists Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov, who went on stage at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow for a rally last month supporting Russian president Vladimir Putin and the invasion.

Russian Olympic officials have also challenged the European OIympic Committee's exclusion of teams and athletes from its youth multi-sport events.

The headline legal case in soccer saw FIFA ban Russian teams from its global competitions, which removed the men's national team from World Cup qualifying last month. Poland advanced to the World Cup last week after getting a bye past Russia in the playoff semifinals.

Judges are now being selected for the Russian soccer appeal, CAS said, though "no procedural calendar has been established yet."

Though Russian teams and athletes are almost entirely banned from international competitions, few Olympic sports have suspended their Russian member federation. Russian officials were able to attend the FIFA congress of member countries last week in Qatar.

The International Olympic Committee has also declined to suspend the Russian Olympic Committee, or its two members from Russia — Yelena Isinbayeva, the women's pole vault world-record holder, and Shamil Tarpishchev.