Sports in Russia and Belarus are sinking to the bottom.
After the beginning of the large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24 The aggressor was subjected to various types of sanctions, which naturally did not bypass the sport.
Literally from the first day of the war, the sanctions simply wiped out almost all Russian sports.
The Russians were immediately deprived of such prestigious events as the Champions League final in St. Petersburg, the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Sochi, the World Championships in various sports, and the Paralympic Committee did not admit Russians and Belarusians to the 2022 Paralympics.
“Football
FIFA and UEFA have deprived Russia of international competitions at the club and national levels. Russian clubs were excluded from the European Cups, and the Russian national team was deprived of the right to play in the clashes of qualifying matches for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Attempts by the Russians to overturn these decisions in the Sports Arbitration Court were unsuccessful.
Source – (sports.ru)
At the same time, FIFA did not consider excluding Russia from the organization at its 72nd Congress, and UEFA, although it selected Russia to host the Champions League final, left the match for the 2023 Super Cup in Kazan. However, the fate of the Super Cup will most likely depend on the further actions of the Putin regime.
Sanctions have even affected virtual football. Electronic Arts has released an update for FIFA 22, in which the developers removed from the sports simulator Russian clubs, the national team and even the stadium of Moscow “Spartak”,
It is also worth noting that UEFA terminated the sponsorship agreement on all joint projects with Gazprom, Adidas and BMW suspended cooperation with the football and Olympic teams, and Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich was forced to hand over control of the club to the Board of Trustees due to sanctions.
UEFA will not stop broadcasting European Cup matches in Russia .
Hockey. Judo
President Putin's favorite sports have also gone unpunished. The Russian hockey team, which will no longer be able to participate in all international competitions, has been banned.
In addition, the International Ice Hockey Federation has banned all matches under its auspices in Russia, and the NHL has announced the termination of all business relations. from the Russian Federation.
The leadership of the world hockey also took away the youth World Cup-2023 from Russia, but left the adult World Cup-2023.
Source – (FHR)
In judo, the International Federation stripped Putin of his status as honorary president and ambassador of the federation, and removed the president of the Russian Federation and his friend billionaire Arkady Rotenberg from all positions in the organization. And in the International Federation of Taekwondo, the President of Russia was deprived of the honorary black belt.
Source – (Championship)
Russia and Belarus were excluded from the list of the most prestigious marathon in the world .
Basketball
The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) has eliminated the national team and Russian clubs from all competitions, and the results of the teams in the most prestigious basketball Eurocup, the Euroleague, have been annulled.
Biathlon
The Executive Committee of the International Biathlon Union (IBU) unanimously decided to suspend the activities of the national federations of Belarus and Russia.
Formula 1
The royal race has always been Putin's pride – he personally attended the Russian Grand Prix at the Sochi racetrack, which has been held since 2014. F-1 is expensive, prestigious and available only to a limited number of countries.
Russia planned to move the F-1 stage from Sochi in 2023 to the Igor Drive racetrack opened in 2019 in the Leningrad region. Now, apparently, the route, in which billions of rubles are invested, will remain a monument to a former life. Because it is doubtful that the International Automobile Federation (FIA) will decide to organize races of less prestigious series to the detriment of its reputation.
After the start of the war, the management of the racing series terminated the contract for the Russian stage and removed it from the calendar. The Russians also lost the agreement to broadcast the race.
Due to the war, the only Russian pilot Nikita Mazepin, whose contract was terminated by the Haas team, had to end his career in Formula One. His place in the American stable was provided by his father, oligarch Dmitry Mazepin. His sponsorship of his Uralkali in The Hague has also been abandoned. is evolving.
After the events of the summer and autumn of 2020, when Lukashenko bloodily suppressed rallies against the rigging of the presidential election, Belarus has already suffered severe sanctions, but with the start of the war in Ukraine they were subject to almost the same restrictions as in Russia.
On February 28, the IOC issued a resolution not to allow Russia and Belarus to participate in international competitions. It is of a recommendatory nature, and each international federation had to decide for itself whether to fully support the IOC's decision, to approve it in part or to ignore it altogether.
List of international federations that fully supported the IOC's decision:
– International Volleyball Federation
– European Handball Federation
– International Boxing Association (amateur boxing )
– United World Wrestling (free and Greco-Roman wrestling)
– World Archery (archery)
– World Taekwondo (Taekwondo)
– International Fencing Federation
– International Weightlifting Federation
– Union Cycliste Internationale (cycling)
– International Canoeing Federation
– World Rowing
– World Badminton Federation
– World Baseball and Softball Confederation
– International Tennis Federation
– World Rugby
– International Table Tennis Federation
– International Motorsport Federation
– International Federation of Motorcycle Sports
– International Mixed Martial Arts Federation
Some federations have punished Russia and Belarus either partially or allowed athletes to participate under neutral flags.
Russian sledders will not be allowed to compete, despite the appeal won .
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As for tennis, the Russian national team was removed from the Davis Cup and Billy Jean King Cup team tournaments, but in individual competitions the Russians continue to play in neutral status.
In chess, the situation is similar to tennis – players from Russia allowed to take part in neutral status.
The boss of the most prestigious organization of mixed martial arts UFC Dana White did not forbid athletes from the occupying countries to take part in fights, and Russian Peter Ian even managed to hold the title fight in which he lost to Aljaime Sterling .
Source – (UFC Russia)
In the boxing on the night of May 7-8, there will be a fight for the belt of the world champion according to the WBA light heavyweight, which will bring together Saul Alvarez and Russian Dmytro Bivol.
Unfortunately, the world of boxing is leaving is the most indifferent to bloodshed in Ukraine.
