FIFA has sidelined all Russian soccer teams, including the men’s and women’s national teams, from playing in international games as the nation’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine continues. In a statement, the sport’s governing body said that the suspension would include Russian club teams playing in European competitions. The ban, which will likely force Russia to miss its final World Cup qualifying matches, is a step up from FIFA’s initial decision to allow the Russian team to compete under a generic team name with no flag or anthem. Some countries, like Sweden and Poland, had already refused to play Russia.
Meanwhile, the International Olympic Committee’s Executive Board recommended on Monday that Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials be banned from any international sporting competition. The war in Ukraine “puts the Olympic Movement in a dilemma,” the board said in a statement. While the movement doesn’t want to punish athletes for the decisions of their government, many athletes from Ukraine are prevented from competing at all “because of the attack on their country,” they said.
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