Russia are KICKED OUT of the World Cup by FIFA and will not participate in play-off for Qatar 2022

FIFA have thrown Russia out of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup after the IOC called for sporting competitions to remove Russian athletes in wake of the invasion of Ukraine. 

The Russian men’s national team were scheduled to play Poland in a play-off for Qatar 2022 on March 24 – a match Poland said they would boycott – but the Poles have now been given a bye to the next round of qualifying. 

It also means Russia will not compete at the women’s Euro 2022 in England this summer, with FIFA and UEFA completing talks today about suspending Russia from competitions until further notice. 

UEFA have also cancelled their sponsorship deal with Russian energy company Gazprom. The sponsorship deal has been in place since 2012 and has been reported to be worth around 40 million euros per season.

Earlier the IOC decision, which included Belarusian athletes too, followed an Executive Board meeting where Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was discussed.

The committee has withdrawn the Olympic order from Vladimir Putin ‘considering the extremely grave violation of the Olympic Truce and other violations of the Olympic Charter by the Russian government in the past’. 

FIFA had already been branded an ‘absolute disgrace’ for failing to kick Russia out of the World Cup already, following sanctions on Sunday.  

FIFA have today thrown Russia out of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar 

FIFA (pictured, president Gianni Infantino left) have suspended Russia until further notice after Russian president Vladimir Putin (centre) ordered an invasion of Ukraine last week  

It also means Russia will not compete in the Women’s European Championships this summer

Russia had been allowed to compete under the name, ‘Football Union of Russia’, with no flag or anthem and it must find a neutral country to host its matches – but they will now not face Poland in next month’s World Cup play-off. 

FIFA’s initial response to the invasion of Ukraine appeared to be an attempt to act in a way that was broadly consistent with the inclusion of the Russian Olympic Committee at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Russia’s President Putin (L) awards an Order of Friendship to FIFA President Infantino during a ceremony in 2019

This allowed Russian athletes to compete, despite Russia receiving a two-year ban from the World Anti-Doping Agency in 2019 for its state-sponsored doping program

However, the IOC’s decision would appear to be a game changer. 

UEFA, European football’s governing body, is also expected to take further action against Russia by banning Spartak Moscow from the Europa League.

Having already stripped the country of the Champions League final, which was due to take place in St Petersburg on May 28, and hand it to Paris, UEFA is now prepared to throw Spartak Moscow out of Europe’s secondary competition. 

Spartak were due to play German Bundesliga team, RB Leipzig, in the round-of-16 but according to German outlet Bild, the tie is now expected to be cancelled.

Spartak Moscow are expected to be ejected from the Europa Champions League by UEFA

‘We continue to be in close contact with the associations and have complete confidence in UEFA and their decision,’ RB Leipzig chief Oliver Mintzlaff told the German outlet.

‘We assume that the games will be cancelled.’

Europe’s football governing body had already banned Spartak from playing their home leg in Russia.

The moves by the IOC and UEFA ratcheted up pressure on FIFA, which looked increasingly out of step with European football and the sporting world, following Putin’s merciless invasion of Ukraine, which began on Thursday.

Four days of rockets, shells and fighting has seen more than 500,000 refugees, mainly women and children, flee Ukraine for the West, with some children separated or even orphaned since the invasion began. Queues of up to 25 miles are reported at the border with Poland.

An explosion lights up the night sky over Kiev in the early hours of Thursday, as Russia launched an all-out attack on Ukraine from north, south and east with bombs, cruise missiles and rockets raining from the skies

Firefighter inspects the damage at a building following a rocket attack on the city of Kyiv

The horrific reality of Putin’s war has been exposed in images emerging from Ukraine, which depict the killing of young children, their distraught parents and the desperate efforts of medics to save them.

Today, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a TV address that 16 Ukrainian children have been killed and 45 wounded in the four days since the invasion began. 

The English Football Association has already confirmed they will not play any team from Russia, regardless of what they call themselves.

The FA is one of seven associations to announce an outright ban on games with Russia. The others include, Czech Republic, France, Poland, Scotland, Sweden and Wales.

The FA said they will not play the country’s representative teams at any level or age group for the foreseeable future. 

An England Under 17s match with Russia in the European Championship elite round, due to take place on March 26, was cancelled on Sunday night.

Russia were due to meet Poland in the World Cup play-offs next month, with Sweden and the Czech Republic to play the winners for a place in Qatar, but all three countries said over the weekend they are unwilling to play.

Polish FA president Cezary Kulesza said yesterday that FIFA’s original decision not to outright ban Russia from the World Cup was ‘totally unacceptable’.  

Polish FA president Cezary Kulesza said yesterday that FIFA’s original decision not to outright ban Russia from the World Cup was ‘totally unacceptable’

‘We are not interested in participating in this game of appearances,’ he said in a tweet. 

‘Our stance remains intact — the Polish national team will not play with Russia, no matter what the name of the team is.’

Swedish FA president Karl-Erik Nilsson told the Fotbollskanalen website: ‘It is clear that we are not satisfied with this.’

Albania, due to play Russia twice in the Nations League in June, also said they would boycott their fixtures.