Court of Arbitration for Sport upholds UEFA ban on Russian clubs over invasion of Ukraine.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport on Friday, July 15, confirmed the ban on Russian clubs from European competitions for the coming season and the exclusion of Russia from international tournaments because of the invasion of Ukraine.

The CAS upheld UEFA and FIFA decisions barring Russian national teams and clubs after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Russia had already been excluded from the World Cup qualifiers for men and the European Championship for women. The clubs will not participate in competitions such as the Champions League in 2022-23.

“The panel regrets that the current military operations in Ukraine, for which Russian football teams, clubs and players themselves have no responsibility, have had such an adverse effect on them and Russian football due to the decisions of FIFA and UEFA. overall, but those effects were, in the panel’s view, outweighed by the need for safe and orderly running of football events for the rest of the world,” CAS ruled.

The ruling added that FIFA and UEFA did not exceed their powers while dealing with “unforeseen and unprecedented circumstances”.

Due to the decision, national champion Zenit St. Petersburg will be removed from the group stage of the Champions League. Another Russian team, Sochi, has been excluded from the draw for the third qualifying round of the Champions League, which is scheduled for Monday. If Russia had been allowed to participate, it was not clear where their home games could be held or whether Ukrainian clubs would boycott.

Friday’s decision was widely expected by Russian clubs. They have made plans to schedule domestic cup matches on the dates the European matches will be played next season.

CAS did not refer to the fighting as an “invasion” or “war” terms that were rejected by Russia, which calls its actions a “special military operation” and assigns no blame.

The Russian National Football Federation said it “completely disagrees with the CAS decision and reserves the right to continue to protect its own interests”.

The next steps could be a claim for damages or a new appeal to the Swiss Supreme Court. The Swiss Federal Tribunal overturns CAS rulings only on limited grounds, such as abuse of legal process.