CAS upholds UEFA ban on Russian clubs

Russia’s appeal against UEFA’s decision to suspend all its teams and clubs from its competitions has been rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

The ruling only applies to UEFA competitions, with Russia still looking to overturn a FIFA ban that would allow them to take part in World Cup qualifying playoff matches scheduled for the end of this month.

Russian athletes and teams have been banned from dozens of sports since the country invaded Ukraine last month. 

The ban by FIFA is part of a similar but separate appeal by the Russian soccer federation which is set to be dealt with by CAS before the end of this week.

The ban imposed by the UEFA executive committee on February 28 in a joint statement with FIFA removed Spartak Moscow from the Europa League. Spartak’s opponents in the round of 16, German club RB Leipzig, were given a bye to the quarter-finals.

Russian under-21 and youth national teams for men and women were also scheduled to play European Championship qualifying games in the weeks ahead. 

The CAS said in a statement: “The president of the appeals arbitration division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has denied the request filed by the Football Union of Russia (FUR) to stay, for the duration of the CAS proceedings, the execution of the UEFA executive committee’s decision to suspend all Russian teams and clubs from its competitions until further notice.

“Consequently, the challenged decision remains in force and all Russian teams and clubs continue to be suspended from participation in UEFA competitions.”