FIFA and UEFA have today announced the suspension of Russia from International tournaments, including World Cup 2022 in Qatar.

After various European countries earlier announced that their national teams would not compete against Russia, FIFA had decided Russia will be able to compete, but at a neutral venue as long as they play under the name “Football Union of Russia” and don’t use the country’s flag or anthem.

But, this was met with further backlash, with Poland FA President Cezary Kulesza making it clear Poland will not be playing Russia “no matter what the name of the team is”.

“Following the initial decisions adopted by the FIFA Council and the UEFA Executive Committee, which decisions 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.” read the official statement in full. 

The announcement comes as a major blow for Russia, with the country facing International hostility and sanctions following their military invasion of Ukraine. Russia was the last country to host the prestigious FIFA World Cup, in 2018.