Russia to appeal FIFA, UEFA suspensions at Court of Arbitration for Sport amid Ukraine war

Russia's place in the sporting world has taken a huge hit following their president Vladimir Putin's decision to stage war against Ukraine. The Russia Ukraine war had led to various sporting bodies including International football associations FIFA and UEFA deciding to suspend Russian clubs and national teams from competing in all competitions, including the FIFA World Cup 2022.

After the major decision taken by FIFA and UEFA a couple of days back, the Russian Football Union on Thursday filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Russian Football Union files appeal at CAS against FIFA and UEFA

According to the statement released by Russian Football Federation, the body is planning to demand the restoration of all men's and women's national teams of Russia in all types of football in the tournaments in which they took part (including in the qualifying round of the FIFA World Cup 2022), as well as compensation for damage, if any.

The statement said, "In order to ensure the possibility of the participation of Russian teams in the next scheduled matches, the RFU will insist on an expedited procedure for considering the case. If FIFA and UEFA refuse such a procedure, a requirement will be put forward for the introduction of interim measures in the form of suspension of FIFA and UEFA decisions, as well as competitions in which Russian teams were supposed to participate. The RFU believes that FIFA and UEFA did not have a legal basis when deciding on the removal of Russian teams. It violated the fundamental rights of the RFU as a member of FIFA and UEFA, including the right to take part in competitions."

"The Russian Football Union was also not given the right to present its position, which violated the fundamental right to defense. In addition, when making decisions, FIFA and UEFA did not take into account other possible options for action, except for the complete exclusion of participants from the competition from Russia." 

FIFA World Cup 2022: Teams protest to play against Russia during 

Russia was scheduled to play Poland in FIFA World Cup 2022 playoff semifinal on March 24 at the VTB Arena in Moscow. However, Poland along with Czech Republic and Sweden said they would not play against Russia due to the Russia-Ukraine war.

Shortly after FIFA’s initial sanctions, Poland and the Czech Republic maintained that they would not play Russia under any circumstances. The winner of that Russia vs Poland match would host either Sweden or Czech Republic on March 29 in the final of their World Cup qualification route.