The sporting world has begun to exclude Russian athletes amid their country’s invasion of Ukraine.
On Monday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) released an unprecedented statement calling for all Russian and Belarusian athletes to be banned from international competitions.
The statement did not outright ban any athletes, but it gave international sports organizations the authority to hand down bans.
“To protect the integrity of global sports competitions and for the safety of all the participants, the IOC (executive board) recommends that International Sports Federations and sports event organizers not invite or allow the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials in international competitions,” the IOC said.
The statement comes just before the 2022 Winter Paralympic Games in Beijing were scheduled to begin on March 4. The IOC said it would hold a meeting on March 2 to determine what will be done with the Russian and Belarusian Paralympians. They may be allowed to compete given the proximity to the start date, but they will likely not wear their country’s flags or have their anthem played.
Hours later, soccer’s international governing body, FIFA, announced that the Russian national team would not compete in its upcoming World Cup qualifying matches. The move effectively ends the Russian team’s chances of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup, scheduled to begin in November in Qatar.
FIFA had initially announced last week that the Russian team would compete, but they would not display the Russian flag, and the team would play under the name “Russian Football Union.”
Russia was scheduled to face Poland in an elimination qualifying match later this month. However, the Polish Football Association (PZPN) had already stated they would refuse to take the field against Russia.
“There is a real tragedy taking place in Ukraine, people are dying, including sportspersons,” PZPN President Cezary Kulesza said on Sunday. “They expect us to pretend that Russia is not Russia because it plays under a different name? It was an outrageous proposal, I didn’t hesitate for one second.”
The soccer federations of Sweden and the Czech Republic, which could have been potential opponents of Russia in World Cup qualifying, echoed Poland’s sentiments.
FIFA was joined in banning Russian teams by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), the administrative body for soccer in Europe. UEFA’s most prestigious soccer match, the Champions League final, is being moved from St. Petersburg, Russia, to Paris, France.
UEFA also announced that it was ending its multi-million dollar sponsorship deal with Gazprom, a Russian-owned energy company, which had been established in 2012.
Russian club Spartak Moscow was booted by the UEFA from its upcoming Europa League Round of 16 game against RB Leipzig, a German club. RB Leipzig is moving forward to the quarterfinal round by default.
The bans did not stop with soccer.
The World Curling Federation announced it is removing Russia from the upcoming World Championships. At the same time, swimming’s global governing body (FINA) is canceling the World Junior Swimming Championships that were scheduled to take place in Russia this December.
The World Figure Skating Competition, scheduled to take place later this month in France, is also banning Russian athletes from the competition. There would have been several logistical complications if the Russians were to participate, as France has blocked all flights to and from Russia.
Russia is considered a powerhouse in figure skating, regularly winning medals in international competitions. However, Russian athletes were already going to compete at the figure skating tournament without their flag or anthem being displayed as part of a long-running sanction in response to a state-sponsored doping scheme.
Calls for the Russian athletes to be outright banned from the skating competition had arisen even before the invasion of Ukraine due to the scandal that erupted at the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing involving doping allegations against Russian teenager Kamila Valieva.
Belarus is not known for being a powerhouse in the sporting world, but its athletes are also being banned, as the country has allowed Russia to station troops within its borders and launch attacks into Ukraine.
The World Rugby executive committee is banning Russia and Belarus from all international rugby competitions.
The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) suspended all Russian and Belarusian national teams and clubs from all competitions until further notice. Russia was scheduled to host the World Junior Hockey Championships later this year, but the IIHF has withdrawn its hosting rights.
The Ukrainian Tennis Federation released a statement urging the International Tennis Federation (ITF) to ban all Russian and Belarusian tennis players. If the ITF does hand down a ban, it will disqualify the world’s No.1 ranked men’s tennis player, Russian Daniil Medvedev.
In women’s tennis, Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, ranked No.15 in the world, was scheduled to face Russian Anastasia Potapova at the Monterrey Open in Mexico on Tuesday.
However, Svitolina withdrew from the match and announced on her Instagram that she would refuse to play against any Russian or Belarusian tennis players until the ITF followed the IOC’s recommendations.
Potapova responded in a statement on Instagram condemning the war and saying she was grieving and in tears. “Unfortunately, now we, professional athletes, are essentially becoming hostages to the current situation,” Potapova wrote.
The Automobile Federation of Ukraine (FAU) also requested that Formula One’s governing body (FIA) ban all Russian and Belarusian drivers from races. The FIA is scheduled to meet this week about the possible ban.
The FIA has already announced that it is canceling the Russian Grand Prix, which was scheduled for September.
Russian former Formula One driver Daniil Kvyat released a statement on social media in response. He called for peace, saying he was “horrified” by the events taking place in Ukraine. However, he called the bans across the sporting world unfair.
“All sports federations across the world, including [the] IOC, should remain outside politics,” Kyvat said. “Disallowing Russian athletes and teams from participating in world competitions is an unfair solution and goes against what sport teaches us in its principle – unity and peace.”