But objection to UEFA remains
Russia now accepts World Cup exclusion
04/05/2022, 06:13 p.m
In response to the Russian war of aggression, FIFA and UEFA ban all Russian teams. The Russian association is fighting back – and is now giving up, at least with a view to the World Cup in Qatar. With a view to the European Cup, however, the final decision has not yet been made.
The World Cup in Qatar will finally take place without the Russian national team. The Russian association RFS had challenged the exclusion issued by the world association FIFA as a result of the aggressive war against Ukraine, but has now withdrawn the objection. This is reported by the International Court of Arbitration for Sport CAS, so the procedure will be discontinued shortly.
The CAS had previously rejected the request from Russia to initially suspend the FIFA decision. After the Russian invasion on February 24, the world governing body suspended the Russian team, which otherwise would have had a chance of qualifying for the tournament. However, the intended opponent Poland automatically made it into the playoff final and secured a ticket for the finals in November and December with a 2-0 win over Sweden.
The playoff semi-finals of the Ukrainian selection in Scotland were also canceled due to the Russian war of aggression, but are to be rescheduled at an unspecified date. The winner of that semi-final would then meet Wales, who had beaten Austria – and are now waiting to play out Europe’s last ticket to the World Cup.
Objection to exclusion from the European Cup remains
The Russian association, on the other hand, is sticking to its objection to UEFA’s exclusion of Russian clubs from the European Cup. The CAS had also rejected an urgent application here, the judge’s decision is not yet final. However, it will still be a few weeks before a verdict is reached. The decision of the European Football Association had a direct impact on Rasenballsport Leipzig, the Bundesliga club reached the quarter-finals of the Europa League with a short-term bye as a result of the exclusion of Spartak Moscow.
In addition, UEFA had withdrawn Russia from the Champions League final, which will be held in Paris at the end of May and not in St. Petersburg as originally planned. However, the decisions of FIFA and UEFA have so far only affected the national teams and clubs from Russia – a suspension of the national football association RFS has not yet materialised.