March 4 – The Russian Football Union has confirmed it is going to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to appeal against its ban from international competitions imposed by FIFA and UEFA as punishment for the invasion of Ukraine.
On Monday, Russian football clubs and national teams were kicked out of all club and national team games “until further notice”.
The RFU said it would demand its national teams be reinstated in time to play their men’s World Cup play-off matches later this month. If unsuccessful, the Russians said they could ask for the suspension of the competitions its players were originally scheduled to compete in.
“The RFU will 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 World Cup in Qatar), as well as compensation for damage,” the RFU 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,” Russian football authorities said.
Russian sport has had some success at CAS, not least over the recent doping case of 15-year-old figure skater Kamila Valieva at the Beijing Olympics.
With time running out before the playoff games, Russia is banking on an interim ruling, arguing that a ban would do “irreparable harm” to players who want a chance to play at the World Cup.
Any favourable decision by CAS would generate global condemnation but the RFU noted the FIFA-UEFA ruling “was taken under pressure from direct rivals in the playoffs, which violated the principle of sports and the rules of fair play.”
Russian football authorities further argued that FIFA and UEFA “did not have a legal basis when deciding on the removal of Russian teams”.
“The Russian Football Union was also not given the right to present its position, which violated the fundamental right to defence. 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.”
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