UEFA and FIFA have agreed with each other to exclude Russian clubs and national teams, from any European or world competition, for an indefinite period. The decision came as a result of the aggressive military offensive that President Vladimir Putin has undertaken against Ukraine.
This means that the Russian national football team will not play in the World Cup playoff match against Poland. While the Russian women's representative will not be allowed to participate in this summer's European. At the same time, Spartak Moscow has been expelled from the Europa League, while UEFA has also severed its relationship with Russian giant sponsor Gazprom.
In a joint statement, the 2 main governing bodies of football in the world announced:
"Football is united and in full solidarity with what is happening in Ukraine. "Both presidents hope that the situation in Ukraine will improve significantly and quickly, so that football continues to be a vector of unity and peace among the people."
The decision of UEFA and FIFA came after quite a lot of pressure from public opinion, which has repeatedly called for reaction in recent hours.
Meanwhile another interesting development is the engagement of the Russian owner of Chelsea, Roman Abramovich, to reduce tensions between the 2 states. The media in England suggest that the Russian billionaire has been contacted by senior Ukrainian leaders to help find a solution to restore peace between the 2 states.
Abramovich is one of the richest men in Russia and has been widely rumored to have close ties to President Vladimir Putin. A spokesman for the Chelsea president told the media that Russia had been trying to help since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
