The Russia women’s national soccer team will not participate in July’s Women’s European Championship, UEFA announced Monday.
Portugal, who Russia defeated in qualifying, will compete in Group C in Russia’s place.
In addition to the Euros, the women’s team will also be banned from qualifying for next year’s World Cup, and Russian teams will be banned from next season’s club competitions.
Russia will not participate in this summer's UEFA Women's EURO 2022.
— UEFA (@UEFA) May 2, 2022
Portugal, the opponent defeated by Russia in the qualifying play-offs, will now participate in Group C.
Additionally, Russian teams will not participate in UEFA club competitions next season.
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The move comes after UEFA announced its February decision to suspend all Russian representative teams until further notice.
Leagues and governing bodies across sports have banned Russian athletes since the country’s invasion of Ukraine. Wimbledon’s ban of Russian and Belarusian players has stirred debate among the tennis community.
UEFA said the executive committee executed the ban to “ensure their smooth staging in a safe and secure environment for all those concerned.”
FIFA has suspended the Russian national team from international competition following the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
The move removes the country from upcoming World Cup qualifying games and effectively keeps the women’s national team from playing in the 2022 European Championship this summer.
FIFA is now in advanced talks to suspend Russia from international competitions, per @AFP.
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) February 28, 2022
Russia would be expelled from the 2022 World Cup barring "radical changes in the situation."
The move would also keep the women's national team from playing in the 2022 Euros. pic.twitter.com/ZkN6EBwq2d
Additionally, Russia has ended a sponsorship agreement with Russian energy giant Gazprom, a deal worth a reported $50 million a year.
It’s a further step taken from Sunday, when FIFA announced that Russian teams would still be allowed to compete. However, they would have to compete under the name of the Football Union of Russia and play home games on neutral territory and behind closed doors. Both the Russian flag and anthem would be banned.
Polish FA president Cezary called the measures “totally unacceptable” and said that Poland would not play their World Cup playoff with Russia, “no matter what the name of the team is.” The two teams are supposed to play on March 24. The winner of that game would advance to play Sweden or the Czech Republic on March 29 for a spot in the finals.
Both Sweden and the Czech Republic also condemned the decision, with Swedish FA chief Karl-Erik Nilsson saying he was “displeased” with the decision made by FIFA.
Other athletes have also spoken out about the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine.
On Monday, the International Olympic Committee’s executive board called on sport organizers to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from international competition “in order to protect the integrity of global sports competitions and for the safety of all the participants.”