Reactions to Ukraine invasion
These sports federations are now excluding Russia
03/01/2022, 7:37 p.m
The International Olympic Committee has issued a recommendation to all world federations and sporting event organizers to ban Russia and its ally Belarus for invading Ukraine. Several associations follow the recommendation. An overview.
Soccer World Cup: The national team of Russia will be excluded from the World Cup qualifiers and stand no chance of a ticket for the finals in Qatar at the end of the year. Russia was originally scheduled to play Poland in Moscow in the playoff semifinals in March. In the event of a win, the 2018 World Cup hosts would have had home rights again in the final against Sweden and the Czech Republic. The Russian Football Union (RFS) criticized the exclusion as “expressly discriminatory”.
European Football Championship: There is still a long way to go before the women’s European Championships in England in July. As of now, the qualified Russian team would no longer be eligible to play. The team was drawn in Group C with the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland.
Football European Cup: Bundesliga club RB Leipzig benefited from the exclusion of Spartak Moscow and entered the quarter-finals of the Europa League without games. As there are no other teams from Russia in the competition in Europe, the impact is limited.
Tennis: Russian and Belarusian tennis professionals, including new world number one Daniil Medvedev, are still allowed to compete in ATP and WTA organized tournaments, including the Grand Slams. This was announced by both organizations. However, “until further notice” the activists will not participate under the flag of Russia and Belarus, the statement said. The International Tennis Federation (ITF), on the other hand, ordered the “immediate suspension” of the Russian Tennis Federation (RTF) and the Belarusian Tennis Federation (BTF), which means that they are also excluded from participating in international ITF team competitions. This applies primarily to the Davis Cup (men) and the Billie Jean King Cup (women) – in both competitions last year Russia prevailed.
Paralympics: The International Paralympic Committee intends to make a decision on this matter tomorrow, Wednesday. It would be a heavy blow to Russia. In 2018 in Pyeongchang, the Russian athletes – at that time listed as neutral athletes because of the big doping scandal – had the second-best medal yield. By the way: Belarus was also well represented in South Korea in eighth place in the medal table.
Athletics: The Indoor World Championships in March in Belgrade, the Outdoor World Championships in July in Eugene/USA and the Team Walking World Championships in Muscat, which begins on Friday in Oman – all athletics events will take place without “athletes, coaches and officials from Russia and Belarus”. This applies to all events in the world series, said the umbrella organization World Athletics.
Ice Hockey World Championship: An Ice Hockey World Championship without Russia was previously unimaginable. The Sbornaja has won the title 27 times, making it the record winner alongside Canada. At the Olympic Games in Beijing, Russia narrowly missed out on the title in the final against Finland. The northern Europeans are now hosting the World Cup from 13th to 29th May and have already made it clear that they do not want the presence of Russia and Belarus. The world association IIHF has excluded both countries “until further notice”.
Volleyball: The world volleyball association FIVB has withdrawn the men’s world championship from Russia. A new organizer for the World Cup tournament from August 26th to September 11th is now being sought, the FIVB announced on Tuesday. Because of the war in Ukraine, it was “impossible to prepare and hold World Championships in Russia,” the statement said. The world association is “seriously concerned about the escalating situation and the safety of the people in Ukraine”.
Basketball European Cup: Russian teams are excluded from the Euroleague and the Eurocup for the time being. Affected in the Euroleague are CSKA Moscow, Zenit St. Petersburg and Unics Kazan. Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar plays in the Eurocup. The Euroleague wants to continuously monitor the development of the situation. If the situation does not change, all regular-season games against Russian teams would be canceled and the league tables would be adjusted. The European Basketball Championship will also take place from September 1st to 18th, when Russia should actually play in Group A in Tbilisi.
Handball European Cup: The European Handball Federation EHF also excludes Russia and Belarus. Neither the national teams nor clubs from the two countries are allowed to take part in European competitions. For example, Meshkow Brest from Belarus is affected in the men’s Champions League. Rostov-Don and CSKA Moscow play in the premier class for women.
Ski: “In order to ensure the safety of all athletes in FIS competitions, the FIS Council unanimously decided that from now on no Russian or Belarusian athlete will be allowed to participate in FIS competitions at any level until the end of the season,” said the World Ski Federation .
cycling: The world cycling association UCI bans Russian and Belarusian teams from all professional races and tours. This was announced by the UCI, and the suspension affects the Russian ProTeam Gazprom-RusVelo with immediate effect.
Rowing: Rowers from Russia and Belarus are also no longer allowed to take part in international competitions until further notice. This was announced by the world rowing association FISA. In addition, FISA clarified “that no events will take place in Russia or Belarus in 2022”. FISA called on its member federations to help Ukrainian rowers who were “prevented from participating in international competitions as a result of the attack on their country”.
Canoe: Athletes from Russia and Belarus are also not allowed to compete in canoeing for the time being. In addition to the athletes, the ICF Executive Committee has decided to ban all officials from Russia and Belarus from attending federation-sanctioned events, as well as from attending ICF meetings, committees and forums, the governing body said.
Swim: In swimming, Russian and Belarusian athletes are allowed to take part in international competitions of the world association Fina. However, they should only be admitted as neutral athletes or teams, as the Fina announced. Participation under the name of Russia or Belarus is no longer allowed. At international events, “no national symbols, colors, flags should be shown or anthems played”. Fina will continue to monitor the situation and make further decisions if necessary. The Russian President Vladimir Putin is also deprived of the Fina medal, which he received from the association in 2014.
Figure skating/speed skating: The International Skating Union (ISU) also announced that figure skaters, speed skaters and short trackers from Russia and Belarus will be banned from all international competitions with immediate effect. This marks the start of Russia and Belarus at the World Figure Skating Championships from March 21 to 27 in Montpellier, France, the All-Around Speed Skating World Championships next weekend in Hamar, Norway, and the Short Track World Championships from March 18 to 20 in Canada Montreal denied. Athletes from both countries will also not be able to compete in the speed skating World Cup finals on March 12 and 13 in Heerenveen, the Netherlands.
Taekwondo: After the World Judo Federation revoked his honorary presidency, Russian President Vladimir Putin lost another award from a sports association because of the invasion of Ukraine. The World Taekwondo Federation withdrew the 69-year-old’s honorary black belt, which was awarded in 2013. At the same time, the association strongly condemned “the brutal attacks on innocent lives in Ukraine, which are directed against World Taekwondo’s vision of ‘peace is more precious than triumphs’ and the values of respect and tolerance”.