No international soccer matches will be played in Russia and the country’s flag and anthem will be banned from any of their matches abroad, governing body FIFA said on Sunday as it announced a number of sanctions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
FIFA said the national team would not compete as Russia but as the Football Union of Russia (RFU) and any games would be held with no fans on “neutral territory”.
These come after scores of sports federations and clubs cancelled competitions in Russia or have refused to face Russian teams in protest of the invasion.
The Czech Republic, Poland and Sweden said their national teams would not contest World Cup qualifiers against Russia next month. England’s Football Association also said its national team would not play any matches against Russia “for the foreseeable future”.
“First and foremost, FIFA would like to reiterate its condemnation of the use of
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