FIFA and UEFA have banned Russia and Russian clubs from all competitions until further notice! What is Spartak Moscow’s statement?

Following the initial decisions taken by the FIFA Council and the UEFA Executive Committee, which envisaged the adoption of additional measures, FIFA and UEFA have today jointly decided that all Russian teams, whether national teams or club teams, will be suspended from participating in FIFA and UEFA competitions until further notice.

These decisions were taken today by the FIFA Council Bureau and the UEFA Executive Committee, respectively the highest decision-making bodies of both institutions in such urgent matters. Football is fully united here and in full solidarity with all the people affected in Ukraine.

FIFA first decided on Sunday that Russian teams must play their matches on neutral ground. But today the International Olympic Committee called on all sports organisations to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from international competitions. FIFA has thus responded to this call and has taken even tougher action.

What does this mean for Russian clubs? Spartak Moscow has been banned from the Europa League with immediate effect. Its opponent, RB Leipzig, thus advances to the quarter-finals without a fight.

Spartak Moscow has already issued a statement on its website.

“Spartak has millions of fans not only in Russia but all over the world. Our successes and failures unite people from dozens of different countries. We believe that sport, even in the most difficult times, should focus on building bridges, not burning them.

We are forced to listen to decisions we disagree with. For now, we will focus on domestic competitions and look forward to quickly achieving the peace that everyone needs.”

At the same time, UEFA announced that it was ending its partnership with Russian state-owned Gazprom, the main sponsor of its most important competitions, the European Championships and the Champions League, with immediate effect.

It had already been decided to move the Champions League final from St Petersburg, Russia, to the Stade de France in Paris.

Source: FIFA, UEFA, GOAL, Spartak Moscow