Russian football bosses have launched a Court of Arbitration appeal against the country’s international ban.
FIFA and UEFA have barred Russian clubs and national teams from competing in major tournaments following the invasion of Ukraine, including the upcoming World Cup play-offs and Spartak Moscow’s Europa League last-16 tie.
But an appeal will now be put before Swiss body CAS after the Russian Football Union (RFU) claimed fair play principles had been broken with the decision.
A statement from the RFU on Thursday said: “The Russian Football Union will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne against the decision taken by FIFA and UEFA to remove the Russian national teams from participation in international competitions.
“As part of a single lawsuit against two organisations, the RFU will demand the restoration of all men's and women's national teams of Russia in all types of football in the tournaments in which they took part (including in the qualifying round of the World Cup in Qatar), as well as compensation for damage, if any will be installed.”
The RFU insists FIFA and UEFA violated fundamental rights, sporting principle and fair play when it took away the right of Russian clubs and national teams to compete.
It urged an expedited procedure to occur with its case in order to allow its clubs and international sides to compete in upcoming fixtures, which did include qualifiers for the Qatar World Cup later this month.
“In order to ensure the possibility of the participation of Russian teams in the next scheduled matches, the RFU will insist on an expedited procedure for considering the case,” the statement continued.
“If FIFA and UEFA refuse such a procedure, a requirement will be put forward for the introduction of interim measures in the form of suspension of FIFA and UEFA decisions, as well as competitions in which Russian teams were supposed to participate.
“The RFU believes that FIFA and UEFA did not have a legal basis when deciding on the removal of Russian teams. It violated the fundamental rights of the RFU as a member of FIFA and UEFA, including the right to take part in competitions.
“In addition, the decision to withdraw the national team from qualification for the 2022 World Cup was made under pressure from direct rivals in the play-offs, which violated the principle of sports and the rules of fair play.”
