Football: FIFA and the Russian Invasion of Ukraine!

By Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw

Following the military invasion by Russia of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the world governing body of football, FIFA, has reacted with a number of interim measures.

FIFA has told Russia to complete their forthcoming home games on neutral territory under the name of the Football Union of Russia without their national flag and anthem.

In a Statement issued on 27 February 2022, FIFA condemned the invasion and added:

“FIFA will continue its ongoing dialogue with the International Olympic Committee, UEFA and other sport organisations to determine any additional measures or sanctions, including a potential exclusion from competitions, that shall be applied in the near future should the situation not improve rapidly.”

Several national football associations, including England, Poland, the Czech Republic and Sweden, have announced that they will not play matches against Russia.

Furthermore, a group of top Ukrainian athletes has written to the International Olympic and the International Paralympic Committees to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from competition.

The 2022 Beijing Paralympic Games begin on 4 March and end on 13 March 2022.

Several other international sports governing bodies have also cancelled competitions involving Russia, including FINA (swimming), and the IJF (judo) have suspended President Putin as their Honorary President and Ambassador!

Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw may be contacted by e-mail at ‘This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.’