The Russian invasion in Ukraine continues to have harsh consequences on professional sports, starting with the exclusion of Russia from the 2022 World Cup, which is added to the IOC recommendation to exclude Russian athletes from competitions, less than a week before the start of the Paralympic Games in Beijing.
Russia excluded from the World Cup-2022
Hosts of the last World Cup, in 2018, the Russians were excluded this Monday from the 2022 edition in Qatar (November 21 – December 8) by the International Football Federation.
FIFA announced the suspension of Russian national teams and clubs “until further notice” in response to the invasion of Ukraine, in a joint statement with UEFA. Poland, which was due to play a playoff match for the World Cup on March 24 against Russia, had announced its refusal to play it.
It was imitated by Sweden and the Czech Republic, possible rivals of the Russians or the Poles in the playoff final. Consulted by AFP, FIFA did not confirm on Monday if Poland was directly qualified for the playoff final, scheduled for the end of March, or if another format would be chosen.
IOC recommends exclusion
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended on Monday to exclude Russians and Belarusians from sports competitions. In a statement, the IOC Executive Board “recommends international sports federations and organizers of sporting events not to invite or allow Russian and Belarusian athletes and official representatives to participate in international competitions.”
In addition, as a symbolic measure, the IOC announced in the same statement that it withdraws the Olympic Order from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
rugby obeys
Following IOC guidance, World Rugby announced the suspension “until further notice” of Russia and Belarus in a statement “condemning Russia’s aggressive invasion of Ukraine”. This suspension means that the Russian team, in the final phase of the European qualifier, will not be able to participate in the 2023 World Cup in France.
Uefa breaks with Gazprom
Uefa announced on Monday that it had broken “with immediate effect” its collaboration with the Russian giant Gazprom, one of its main sponsors since 2012.
The contract was estimated at 40 million euros a year (about 45 million dollars), according to specialized media, and covered the Champions League, the international competitions organized by UEFA, as well as Euro-2024 in Germany.
The German club Schalke 04 had already broken with Gazprom. Manchester United, meanwhile, decided to separate from Aeroflot.
Sochi without F1
Sochi is symbolic of the use of sport to gain political influence. Host city of the Winter Games in 2014, it hosts the Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix. But this will not be the case this season: the promoter of the competition, Formula One, has decided to cancel it.
The American Haas team, for its part, decided not to wear the Russian colors of its sponsor Uralkali on its single-seaters. The future in F1 of Nikita Mazepin, the son of a Uralkali manager and who was to drive one of the two Haas cars, is also up in the air.
The Abramovich case
Chelsea owner, Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, announced that he will hand over “the management and administration” of the Premier League club to the trustees of the entity’s charitable foundation. Another sensitive case is AS Monaco, owned by Russian millionaire Dimitri Rybolovlev.
neither boxing nor swimming
The four major boxing bodies – IBF, WBC, WBA, WBO – announced on Saturday that they will not authorize championships in Russia until further notice. The International Swimming Federation (FINA) canceled the Junior World Championships in Kazan in August and announced that no competition will be held in Russia. In football, UEFA confirmed to AFP that after the exclusion of Spartak Moscow, Leipzig qualifies directly for the Europa League quarterfinals.
Judo suspends Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin, a prominent judo practitioner, was suspended on Sunday from his status as honorary president and ambassador of the International Judo Federation. The Swedish government called on Saturday for a comprehensive exclusion of Russia from all country sports competitions in the European Union.
The Norwegian and Swedish ski federations reported that Russian athletes were not welcome on their territory for next month’s events. And the British authorities indicated that the Russian and Belarusian “national teams” were persona non grata.
Boycott of France and Poland in volleyball
Scheduled from August 26 to September 11, the volleyball World Cups are threatened, although the international federation has not yet reacted. Poles and French, respective world and Olympic champions, announced their withdrawal from the tournament if it remained in Russia.
This Monday, the International Ice Hockey Federation decided to suspend all Russian and Belarusian teams as well as all clubs from these two countries from all competition in all age categories “until further notice”.
AFP
#Russia #marginalized #sport #impact #punishments #panorama