Russia, Belarus suspended from international soccer, hockey over Ukraine attacks Russia's men's Hockey (Chase N/WikiCommons)
This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
The world governing bodies of soccer and ice hockey have suspended all Russian and Belarusian national and club teams from international competitions until further notice in reaction to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
UEFA, European football’s governing body, also canceled its sponsorship deal with Russian energy company Gazprom as international sports bodies on February 28 moved to further isolate Russia.
“Football is fully united here and in full solidarity with all the people affected in Ukraine,” a joint statement from FIFA, soccer’s world governing body, and UEFA said.
The presidents of the two organizations “hope that the situation in Ukraine will improve significantly and rapidly so that football can again be a vector for unity and peace,” the statement added.
Later in the day, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) announced a similar ban, also applying it to Belarus, as well as withdrawing Russia’s hosting rights for the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championships.
“The IIHF is not a political entity and cannot influence the decisions being taken over the war in Ukraine,” said IIHF President Luc Tardif.
“We nevertheless have a duty of care to all of our members and participants and must therefore do all we can to ensure that we are able to operate our events in a safe environment for all teams taking part in the IIHF World Championship program.”
The announcements came after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended that international sports federations forbid the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials in international competitions.
The IOC said in a statement on February 28 that its executive board took the decision “to protect the integrity of global sports competitions and for the safety of all the participants.”
“The current war in Ukraine…puts the Olympic movement in a dilemma. While athletes from Russia and Belarus would be able to continue to participate in sports events, many athletes from Ukraine are prevented from doing so because of the attack on their country,” the IOC said in explaining its decision.
The head of Russia’s Olympic committee, Stanislav Pozdnyakov, issued a statement in response.
“There is only one comment to make: We categorically disagree,” Pozdnykov said.
The IOC’s move was not a blanket ban and did not specifically suspend the national Olympic committees of Russia and Belarus.
FIFA’s decision means Russia will be excluded from the World Cup ahead of a qualifying playoff on March 24. Poland had already refused to play the match. The World Cup is scheduled to begin in November in Qatar.
The IIHF announcement means that, until the ban is rescinded, Russia, as well as Belarus, which has assisted Moscow by allowing it to use Belarusian territory to stage the invasion of Ukraine, will not compete in the world championships in May.
The federation added that it will initiate discussions in the coming months to find a new host for the 2023 World Junior Championship, which was scheduled to take place in Russia from December 26, 2022, to January 5, 2023.
It was unclear how the IOC’s request will affect tennis players, including the men’s top-ranked player, Daniil Medvedev of Russia.
The IOC said that if it proves impossible to ban an athlete for organizational or legal reasons, organizers should “do everything in their power to ensure that no athlete or sports official from Russia or Belarus be allowed to take part under the name of Russia or Belarus.”
“Russian or Belarusian nationals, be it as individuals or teams, should be accepted only as neutral athletes or neutral teams,” it said.
The IOC’s move also stripped Russian President Vladimir Putin of an Olympic Order award he received in 2001.
Two other Russian officials, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko and Dmitry Kozak, a deputy chief of staff at the Kremlin, will have their Olympic Order awards withdrawn as well.
The Olympic Order is the highest award of the Olympic Movement. It is given for “particularly distinguished contributions” to the movement.
