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| Rusia are banned from playing in this winter’s World Cup in Qatar |
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Friday dismissed appeals filed by the Russian football federation and four Russian clubs against FIFA and UEFAโs decision to ban them from all competition until further notice following the countryโs invasion of Ukraine.
Global footballโs governing body FIFA and European footballโs governing body UEFA decided in February that all Russian teams, whether national or club sides, would be suspended from participation in FIFA and UEFA competitions after the invasion, which Moscow calls a โspecial military operationโ.
In March, CAS rejected a request from the Russian football federation (FUR) to freeze FIFAโs suspension, effectively ending its hopes of competing at the World Cup in Qatar.
Later in May, Russian Premier League clubs Zenit St Petersburg, Dynamo Moscow, FC Sochi and CSKA Moscow filed an appeal against UEFA.
โIn all of these cases, the Panel determined that the escalation of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and the public and government responses worldwide, created unforeseen and unprecedented circumstances to which FIFA and UEFA had to respond,โ CAS said in a statement.
โIn determining that Russian teams and clubs should not participate in competitions under their aegis while such circumstances persisted, the Panel held that both parties acted within the scope of the discretion granted to them under their respective statutes and regulations.โ
After FIFA and UEFAโs decision, several national football associations also announced that they would not play against Russia in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine, including those of Poland, Sweden and the Czech Republic.
