On February 28, 2022, FIFA and UEFA jointly announced the immediate suspension of all Russian national and club teams from their competitions “until further notice” due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, launched on February 24.
The decision bars Russia’s men’s team from the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, including a scheduled World Cup playoff semi-final against Poland in March, and excludes the women’s team from the UEFA Euro 2022 in England.
Russian clubs, such as Spartak Moscow, were also removed from the UEFA Europa League.
The joint statement expressed solidarity with Ukraine, stating, “Football is fully united here and in full solidarity with all the people affected in Ukraine,” hoping for a swift resolution to restore football’s role as a “vector for unity and peace.”
UEFA Ends Gazprom Sponsorship
UEFA took further action by terminating its sponsorship deal with Russian state-owned gas company Gazprom, effective immediately across all competitions, including the UEFA Champions League, national team events, and Euro 2024.
The decision followed UEFA’s move on February 25 to relocate the Champions League final from St. Petersburg to Paris’s Stade de France, prompted by Russia’s aggression.
Gazprom, a key sponsor since 2012, was linked to Russian influence, and its termination reflected the broader economic sanctions, including SWIFT exclusions, crippling Russia’s economy, with the ruble losing 30% of its value by February 28.
IOC and Tennis Responses
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) also acted on February 28, recommending that international sports federations exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes, officials, and teams from competitions, citing the violation of the Olympic Truce.
Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina urged the ATP, WTA, and ITF to follow suit, allowing Russian and Belarusian players to compete only as neutral athletes without national symbols. Svitolina, in a statement, said, “I do not blame any of the Russian athletes… Their support is essential,” praising players like Russia’s Andrey Rublev who opposed the war.
By March 1, the ITF suspended Russia and Belarus from the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup, aligning with the IOC’s guidelines.
Global and Regional Context
The bans came amid escalating sanctions and global condemnation of Russia’s invasion, which displaced over 500,000 Ukrainians and killed 352 civilians, including 14 children, by February 28, per Ukrainian reports.
African students, including Nigerians and Ghanaians, faced discrimination at the Ukraine-Poland border, prompting outrage from leaders like Nigeria’s Muhammadu Buhari.
The crisis coincided with other global issues, such as the IPCC’s climate report and Myanmar’s refugee crisis, with posts on X in 2022 amplifying calls for solidarity with Ukraine.
FIFA’s initial hesitation to ban Russia drew criticism from Poland, Sweden, and the Czech Republic, whose teams refused to play Russia, forcing the governing body’s swift reversal.
Impact on Russian Sport
The suspensions isolated Russian football, with its 300+ SWIFT-member banks already hit by sanctions, per Rosswift, and the national team missing a chance to qualify for Qatar 2022, where they last competed in 2018 as hosts.
The bans extended a precedent set by UEFA’s 2014 exclusion of Crimean clubs after Russia’s annexation.
Russia’s appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in March 2022 was rejected, cementing their exclusion.
The move, while symbolic, aimed to pressure Russia amid reports of Ukrainian resistance in Kyiv and Kharkiv, bolstered by Turkish drones and Western arms.
