Russia will not play in this year’s FIFA World Cup in Qatar in response to the Russian military’s invasion of Ukraine..
FIFA and the European Football Association (UEFA) said in a joint statement on Thursday that Qatar would not be allowed to play in the World Cup unless Russia withdraws its military strike on Ukraine, which is banned from international competition.
UEFA has already banned Russian clubs from playing in European competitions.
The Russian team was preparing to play in the playoffs in March for the World Cup qualifiers in Qatar at the end of the year. Russia’s women’s team has already been selected for the Women’s European Championship to be held in England in July. Now the Russian women’s team will not be able to play in the European Championship.
Earlier, the Polish Football Association had announced that they would not play in the World Cup playoff semifinals against Russi. The match between Poland and Russia was scheduled for March 24 in Moscow. The winner of the game will compete with Sweden or the Czech Republic to secure a place in the World Cup. But Sweden and the Czech Republic have also made it clear they will not play any games against Russia.
UEFA has also announced the termination of a 45 million annual sponsorship deal with Russian fuel company Gazprom. Gazprom and UEFA had an agreement until 2024.
UEFA has decided to move the UEFA Champions League final from Russia on May 28 to the Stade de France in Paris.
Chelsea’s billionaire Russian boss Roman Abramovich has made the tough decision to sell the club because his country invaded Ukraine. Roman, who has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, decided to sell the club after receiving indications that there would be problems with his ownership of the club. Abromovich bought Chelsea in 2003 and established it as a powerhouse of European football. Abromovic became the owner of English team to win the most (21) titles with the purchase of Chelsea.
