The Russian Football Union (KFS) will appeal the decisions of the International Federation of Football Federations (FIFA) and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), KFS said on Thursday.
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It has already been reported that FIFA in a joint statement with UEFA on Monday suspended Russian football clubs and national teams from all competitions, including this year’s World Cup.
KFS said on Thursday it would contact CAS in Lausanne to challenge the decision.
In one lawsuit against the two organizations, KFS will demand the reinstatement of all Russian men’s and women’s teams in all football tournaments in which they participated, including World Cup qualifiers, as well as compensation for any damage found.
In order to ensure the participation of Russian teams in the upcoming matches, including the start of the men’s national team in the World Cup qualifiers at the end of the month, KFS will insist on an accelerated procedure.
KFS considers that FIFA’s and UEFA’s decision to suspend the Russian teams had no legal basis and that they infringed KFS’s fundamental rights as a member of FIFA and UEFA, including the right to compete.
The federation points out that the decision to suspend the national team from the 2022 World Cup qualifiers was taken under pressure from opposing teams, “which violated the principles of sport and fair play.”
KFS also emphasizes that it was not given the right to express a position which infringes the rights of the defense. In addition, FIFA and UEFA did not consider other possible courses of action in their decision, apart from the complete exclusion of Russian teams from the competition, the federation adds.
Poland, the Czech Republic and Sweden, which are rivals or potential rivals in the upcoming World Cup qualifiers at the end of the month, have already reportedly refused to play against the Russian national team in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In the following days, several more countries joined the boycott of the Russian national team.
FIFA initially did not intend to disqualify Russia, but did not rule out such a decision. It was decided that the Russian national team will not be allowed to play in Russia and that the home matches will take place in neutral territory without the presence of spectators. In addition, the Russian flag or anthem will not be allowed in the games.
