The European Football Confederation ( UEFA ) has decided to impose further sanctions on the Russian Football Federation (RFU). Regarding the invasion of Ukraine, UEFA ensured that there would be no Russian team in the Champions League next season.

Uefa ‘s sanctions began with Russia’s sanctions against Ukraine at the end of February 2022. The invasion which was a political issue made its impact spread everywhere, including to football.

In early March 2022, FIFA and UEFA decided to impose severe sanctions on Russia through the RFU. Both world and European football bodies ensured that no representatives of Russia, both the national team and clubs, could participate in FIFA or UEFA competitions.

The sanctions had received criticism from important football figures. However, the fact is that now UEFA has given further sanctions to the RFU.

Advanced Sanctions

UEFA also imposed further sanctions on Russian football on Tuesday (3/5/2022) early morning WIB. No Russian club will be allowed to play in next season’s UEFA competitions, including the Champions League, Europa League or UEFA Conference League.

UEFA also refused to confirm the Russian Women’s National Team would not be allowed to participate in the European Women’s Football Championship competition being held in England in July 2022.

UEFA also rejected Russia’s bids to host Euro 2028 and 2032, even though Russia was in the leading position for the slot before his government invaded Ukraine.

This sanction is quite heavy for Russia, especially since their national team initially had the opportunity to qualify through the play-offs . However, the penalty was imposed and the Russian national team failed to face Poland in the semifinals of the 2022 World Cup play-offs

Severe Punishment

A series of UEFA sanctions that certainly burden Russian football. Without European competition means that the quality of local leagues could decline further, Russian football could decline.

Moreover, UEFA is willing to make adjustments in the competition. For the Nations League event, Russia will automatically be ranked fourth in their group phase, maybe even relegated.

With the absence of a Russian team in the Champions League, it means that there will be new teams playing in Europe’s top competition next season. There will be teams from Austria and Scotland competing for tickets through the qualifying round.