UEFA has barred Russia from competing in the Women’s European Championship in July and qualifying for next year’s World Cup in the aftermath of the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
Portugal will take the place of Russia in the tournament in England from July 6-31, after losing to them in the qualifying play-offs. In Group C, they will be joined by the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland.
Russia’s proposal to host the men’s Euros in 2028 and 2032 was also ruled ineligible by UEFA, meaning Britain and Ireland’s combined candidacy to host Euro 2028 is only rivaled by Turkey, which has also expressed interest in hosting the tournament in 2032.
According to UEFA’s statutes, “each bidder shall ensure that it does not act in a manner that might bring UEFA, the UEFA final or UEFA final phase, any other bidder, the bidding procedure, or European football into disrepute,” Russia’s offer was ineligible.
Russian clubs will also be excluded from the UEFA Champions League, Europa League, and Europa Conference League next season.
In the 2022-23 Champions League group stage, the Scottish Premiership winners will replace Russian champions Zenit St Petersburg.
The choices were made by UEFA’s executive committee to “guarantee their smooth staging in a safe and secure environment for all those affected,” according to a statement.
Russia will also be automatically relegated from its second-tier group if they do not play in the Nations League, which begins in June.
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow describes as a “special military operation,” UEFA and FIFA suspended Russian clubs and national teams from competitions until further notice.
As a result of the sanctions, RB Leipzig of Germany moved to the Europa League quarter-finals this season at the expense of Spartak Moscow of Russia, after their last-16 match was called off.
Before the FUR withdrew its appeal, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rejected a request from Russia’s football association (FUR) to freeze FIFA’s suspension, effectively ending Russia’s chances of competing in the World Cup in Qatar.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, several national soccer associations, including Poland’s, Sweden’s, and the Czech Republic’s, indicated that they would not play against Russia.
