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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Steven Mair

UEFA and FIFA trigger World Cup and Europa League eliminations as ALL Russian teams plus Gazprom given the boot

UEFA and FIFA have clubbed together to order a total ban on Russian teams participating in any of their competitions at club and international level.

The move comes amid growing pressure on the game's continental and global authorities to impose the ultimate sporting sanction following their invasion of Ukraine.

And UEFA have also severed ties with Champions League sponsor Gazprom, the state-owned natural gas company, effective immediately.

A joint statement read: "Following the initial decisions adopted by the FIFA Council and the UEFA Executive Committee, which envisaged the adoption of additional measures, FIFA and UEFA have today decided together that all Russian teams, whether national representative teams or club teams, shall be suspended from participation in both FIFA and UEFA competitions until further notice.

"These decisions were adopted today by the Bureau of the FIFA Council and the Executive Committee of UEFA, respectively the highest decision-making bodies of both institutions on such urgent matters.

"Football is fully united here and in full solidarity with all the people affected in Ukraine. Both Presidents hope that the situation in Ukraine will improve significantly and rapidly so that football can again be a vector for unity and peace amongst people."

It means Russia will now be thrown out of the World Cup qualification play-offs next month. FIFA had imposed sanctions that included changing the team name to 'Football Union of Russia' but it was immediately clear semi-final opponents Poland would not play them under any banner.

Spartak Moscow will be removed from the Europa League with their last 16 opposition RB Leipzig getting a bye to the quarter-finals.

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