FIFA and UEFA announced that Russia has been kicked out of Qatar World Cup 2022, with Poland given a bye to a play-off final against Sweden or Czech Republic later this month; Russia were set to be kicked out of the women’s European Championship in England this summer; Spartak Moscow were removed from the Europa League with RB Leipzig advancing to the quarter-finals, due to the recent war launched by Russian forces against Ukraine.
‘FIFA and UEFA have decided 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,’ read a joint statement, which means the absence from participating in the qualifying round for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
‘FIFA stressed its solidarity with the Ukrainian people, saying:”Football is fully united and in full solidarity with all the people affected in Ukraine. Both presidents of FIFA and UEFA hope the situation in Ukraine will improve significantly and rapidly so that football can again be a vector for unity and peace among people.”