Russia’s soccer teams remain excluded from international competitions for the time being. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Tuesday rejected the Russian federation’s urgent appeal against the sanctions imposed by the European Football Union (UEFA) over the war of aggression against Ukraine.
The exclusion of the clubs from the European Cup and the national team from the playoffs for participation in the World Cup in Qatar remain in place, the CAS announced.
The CAS announced that the arbitration proceedings requested by Russia would be continued. The reason for the rejection of the urgent application is expected to be announced by the end of the week.
Russia called CAS a week ago, demanding that the bans be lifted and all teams reinstated in all competitions. Among other things, Spartak Moscow was excluded from the Europa League, so opponent RB Leipzig is already a quarter-finalist.
Most affected is Russia’s national team, which should have played against Poland in the World Cup play-offs on March 24. However, the country was banned from all competitions in response to the invasion of Ukraine. Opponents Poland had already announced that they would not play against Russia in the play-offs.
From the association’s point of view, there is “no legal basis” for the decision by FIFA and UEFA. The decision was made “under pressure” from the opposing associations, and one was not allowed to present one’s own position.