Global sports bodies expel Russia

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sparked widespread reaction in the sports world, with the country booted out of this year’s World Cup and the IOC calling for a global sporting ban

FOOTBALL

-- Russia is expelled from the 2022 World Cup after being suspended from all international competitions, FIFA and UEFA announce in a joint statement. The decision also affects Russian clubs in European
tournaments.

IOC

-- The International Olympic Committee urges sports federations and organisers to exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from international events.

TENNIS

-- Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina becomes the first tennis player to refuse to play a Russian. The former world number three says she will not face opponents from Russia or Belarus. She had been due to face Russian Anastasia Potapova in Monterrey on Tuesday.

JUDO and TAEKWONDO

-- Russian President Vladimir Putin was suspended as honorary president of the International Judo Federation (IJF).

-- World Taekwondo said Tuesday they were stripping Vladimir Putin of an honorary black belt.The body also said no Russian or Belarusian national flags or anthems will be displayed and played at events, nor will any future events be organised in the two countries.

FORMULA ONE

-- The Russian Grand Prix, scheduled for September 25, was cancelled, a day after defending world champion Max Verstappen and four-time champion Sebastian Vettel publicly declared their opposition to driving in the race.

ICE HOCKEY

-- The International Ice Hockey Federation suspends all Russian and Belarusian national teams and clubs from its competitions until further notice. It also strips Russia of the hosting rights for the 2023 junior world
championships.

BOXING

-- Boxing’s four major sanctioning bodies -- the International Boxing federation, World Boxing Council, World Boxing Association and World Boxing Organization -- said in a joint statement they will not sanction bouts in Russia. “Just as the world claims for cease of fire, our organizations have decided to not sanction any boxing championships in Russia,”
they said.

FENCING

-- Ukrainian fencers withdrew from the world championships in Cairo to avoid a match with Russia. The male Ukrainian team downed their swords and picked up signs to protest.

RUGBY

-- Rugby’s world governing body banned Russia and Belarus from all international rugby “until further notice”. Russia’s membership of World Rugby was also suspended indefinitely.

BADMINTON

-- The Badminton World Federation (BWF) strengthened within a matter of hours their measures against Russia and Belarus having originally cancelled all sanctioned tournaments in Russia and Belarus they announced a ban on athletes and officials representing the two countries from participating at tournaments sanctioned by the world federation.

SWIMMING

-- Putin has had his personal award the FINA Order withdrawn by the governing body. However, FINA the governing body stopped short of barring all Russians and Belarusians competing saying they could be “accepted only as neutral athletes or neutral teams.”

ICE SKATING

-- Russian and Belarus ice skaters have been barred from all competitions by the International Skating Union (ISU).

VOLLEYBALL

-- Russia has been stripped of hosting the men’s Volleyball World Championships in August and September by the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB).