Russia suspended from international soccer over Ukraine invasion
FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin touches the World Cup trophy as FIFA President Gianni Infantino stands beside him, at the end of the final match between France and Croatia at the 2018 soccer World Cup in the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, July 15, 2018. In a sweeping move to isolate and condemn Russia after invading Ukraine, the International Olympic Committee urged sports bodies on Monday to exclude the country's athletes and officials from international events. The decision opened the way for FIFA, the governing body of soccer, to exclude Russia from a World Cup qualifying playoff match on March 24. Poland has refused to play the scheduled game against Russia.(AP Photo/Petr David Josek, File)
FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, applauds beside FIFA President Gianni Infantino at the end of the 2018 World Cup final soccer match between France and Croatia in the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia,on July 15, 2018. FIFA and UEFA on Monday decided together that all Russian teams, whether national representative teams or club teams, shall be suspended from participation in both FIFA and UEFA competitions until further notice. (AP file photo)
FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin touches the World Cup trophy as FIFA President Gianni Infantino stands beside him, at the end of the final match between France and Croatia at the 2018 soccer World Cup in the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, July 15, 2018. In a sweeping move to isolate and condemn Russia after invading Ukraine, the International Olympic Committee urged sports bodies on Monday to exclude the country's athletes and officials from international events. The decision opened the way for FIFA, the governing body of soccer, to exclude Russia from a World Cup qualifying playoff match on March 24. Poland has refused to play the scheduled game against Russia.(AP Photo/Petr David Josek, File)
FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, applauds beside FIFA President Gianni Infantino at the end of the 2018 World Cup final soccer match between France and Croatia in the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia,on July 15, 2018. FIFA and UEFA on Monday decided together that all Russian teams, whether national representative teams or club teams, shall be suspended from participation in both FIFA and UEFA competitions until further notice. (AP file photo)
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GENEVA -- Russian teams were suspended Monday from all international soccer, including qualifying matches for the 2022 World Cup, as Moscow was pushed toward pariah status in sports for its invasion of Ukraine.
World soccer body FIFA and European authority UEFA banned Russian national and club teams from their competitions "until further notice." Russia's men's national team had been scheduled to play in World Cup qualifying playoffs in just three weeks' time.
"Football is fully united here and in full solidarity with all the people affected in Ukraine," FIFA and UEFA said in a joint statement.
The high-level punishment involving sports and politics -- something not seen for decades -- came after the International Olympic Committee pushed dozens of sports governing bodies to exclude Russian athletes and officials from international events.
Denying Russia a place on the international stage could deliver a financial and psychological blow to the country, along with tarnishing its image as an elite sports powerhouse.
FIFA's move excluded Russia from the World Cup ahead of qualifying playoff on March 24. Poland already had refused to play its scheduled game against Russia.
UEFA also took the last remaining Russian team in European club competitions this season, Spartak Moscow, out of the second-tier Europa League. Spartak's scheduled opponent on March 10 and 17, Leipzig of Germany, advances directly to the quarterfinals, UEFA said.
Russia now faces the kind of isolation suffered by Yugoslavian teams in 1992 after war broke out in the Balkans and by South African teams and athletes during the apartheid era of racial segregation and discrimination.