FIFA and UEFA ban Russia and its soccer teams from all competitions, including the World Cup
- FIFA and UEFA banned all Russian clubs and national teams from competing on the international stage.
- The move comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin spearheaded an invasion into neighbor Ukraine.
FIFA and UEFA banned Russia and its teams from all soccer competitions — including the World Cup — as Vladimir Putin's forces invade Ukraine.
"FIFA and UEFA have today decided together 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," a joint statement said.
"Football is fully united here and in full solidarity with all the people affected in Ukraine," the organizations added. "Both Presidents hope that the situation in Ukraine will improve significantly and rapidly so that football can again be a vector for unity and peace amongst people."
FIFA — which governs international soccer competitions, including the World Cup — initially stopped short of banning any nation in its response to the crisis in Ukraine. Instead, FIFA barred the Russian national team from playing any matches on its home turf or competing under its flag or country name in World Cup qualifiers. They were set to be referred to as RFU, according to ESPN.
But FIFA increased the severity of its response on Monday, mere hours after the International Olympic Committee recommended "that International Sports Federations and sports event organisers not invite or allow the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials in international competitions."
Without a drastic about-face from Putin and his government, the Russian men's national team will miss the 2022 World Cup. The team was previously set to face Poland in a qualifying match in March.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine — which has been aided by neighboring Belarus — has intensified in recent days. Putin's forces have looked to seize control of Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, in what is considered Europe's most serious ground war since World War II.
While the reaction across the sports world has been swift, the political world's response does not appear to have deterred Putin from directly violating Ukraine's sovereignty. The result will likely have dire consequences across the globe.
Insider's live blog of the Russian invasion of Ukraine is covering developments as they happen.