As a result of the war of aggression against Ukraine, Russia is now also isolated in terms of sport policy. Under pressure from the international public, European governments and various associations, the world football association Fifa decided on Monday evening to suspend Russia from its competitions until further notice. The European football union Uefa also excluded the Russians from their competitions – and also announced an end to their sponsorship contracts with the Russian energy giant Gazprom. The decision is effective immediately and includes all existing contracts, it said, including the Champions League and the 2024 European Championships taking place in Germany.
A few hours before the radical about-face by Fifa, which had been tackling until then, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had “recommended” all world federations to no longer allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to take part in international competitions. However, the IOC did not get through to excluding the National Olympic Committees of Russia and its partner Belarus. It also built various loopholes into its decision. Should world federations not be able to exclude athletes from Russia and Belarus for “time or legal reasons”, they should at least compete under a neutral flag – or the professional federations should take their own measures to “effectively address this dilemma”. This applies in particular to the Paralympics, which begin on March 4th in Beijing.
Of course, the associations themselves had contributed to this dilemma. At first they hesitated to severely sanction Russia, which is closely intertwined with the sport in terms of economy and personnel. The IOC even recognized Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Olympic medal in gold on Monday. The German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) was apparently pulled into the wake of the new demands after recent rather defensive statements: “Global sanctions in all areas of society are all the more effective the more social actors participate,” said the umbrella organization.
Previously, various sports federations had repeatedly called for such a step. The Finnish Ice Hockey Federation has called for the exclusion of Russia and Belarus from the men’s world championships in Tampere and Helsinki in May. Ice hockey is considered Putin’s favorite sport. The basketball association ECA, which had initially resisted banning Russian clubs from the Euroleague and the Eurocup, did just that on Monday – and thus also illustrated how much pressure from society and politics had recently swelled.
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) joined in this chorus when she told the SZ on Monday: “Sport unites people, sport promotes integration and understanding.” The international sports federations therefore have a great responsibility to position themselves unequivocally and clearly in favor of peace and against Putin’s war. “That must also mean that Russian teams are excluded from the top international sporting events,” said Faeser.
Fifa caved in after Uefa’s exclusion of the Russians was considered a foregone conclusion
In this regard, the focus on Monday was primarily on the World Football Association (Fifa) and its President Gianni Infantino, who had recently proved to be a particularly big brake pad. Infantino bowed to the pressure that emanated from the Polish Football Association PZPN and became overwhelming. The Poles had announced that under no circumstances did they want to play against Russia. They had previously been drawn for the semifinals of the World Cup playoff qualifier against the Russians at the end of March. Sweden and the Czech Republic, who were due to play Russia in the final, followed the Poles’ reasoning. On Monday they were supported by England and Switzerland, among others. They announced that their men’s, women’s and youth teams would no longer play against Russia for the time being. the Sports information service reported that the German Football Association (DFB) would also support an exclusion. There was initially no official statement or a clear demand for an exclusion.
The Polish national team with Bayern’s Robert Lewandowski will not play against Russia in the World Cup qualifier. Poland’s football association said it would not take part in any event that served the purpose of “keeping up appearances”.
(Foto: Alex Grimm/Getty Images)
And FIFA? The world association announced on Sunday that Russia’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Poland, Sweden and the Czech Republic would be played “on neutral ground”. The footballers should not compete under their national flag, but as representatives of the “Russian Football Union”, under the coat of arms of the association. Poland immediately rejected this: They would not take part in any event that served the purpose of “keeping up appearances,” said a letter sent to all European associations – with the exception of Russia. Fifa then gave in on Monday evening – also in the light of Uefa’s clearly emerging position in favor of exclusion. A lot of money is involved for Uefa. The contract with Gazprom has been in effect since 2012 and is expected to bring in more than 40 million euros per season for Uefa.
The fact that Uefa was already excluded on Monday could be read, among other things, from the fact that Oliver Mintzlaff, the boss of the Bundesliga soccer club RB Leipzig, image on Monday said his club expects the games against Spartak Moscow – RB’s opponent in the Europa League and last Russian representative in a European cup competition of Uefa – to be canceled. Previously, Mintzlaff had largely left public communication to the athletes. Striker Yussuf Poulsen and coach Domenico Tedesco recently faced questions about a possible boycott. Tedesco, who worked for Spartak before his commitment in Leipzig, spoke out against calls for a boycott after the 1-0 win at VfL Bochum. Now Leipzig has advanced to the quarter-finals without a fight.
Russian sponsors are also coming under pressure – and with them their former partners
The energy company Gazprom, an important Russian financier of international football, came under further pressure on Monday: Not only Uefa, but also FC Schalke 04 parted ways with its long-standing advertising partner. The second division let it be known that the partnership with the energy company that began 15 years ago had ended.
This was to be expected at the latest when the traditional club last removed the company’s advertising logo from its jersey. The decision is associated with massive financial losses for the heavily indebted club. As the main sponsor, Gazprom contributed around EUR 9 million to the current annual budget; the contract originally ran until 2025. “The club’s full financial capacity to act remains unaffected by this decision,” the club said – and combined this with the hope of “being able to present a new partner in the near future”.
