The Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused a massive stir in the world around us. In all fairness, the stir has not only changed the geographical conditions of the country but also the sensibilities that made it a country in the first place.
As of now, it is only human hubris of the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, and a string of economic sanctions that have made the varying stories of the human cost of war take a backseat.
Unfortunately, during the course of the said war, where Ukrainian citizens have had to let go of their possessions and their livelihoods in their constant battle for survival, the Russian citizens have begun to face as much.
It is unfortunate to state that it is not the warmonger but the peasantry that is having to pay the price. In effect, it is the collective of the Russian sports fraternity that is having to hang up their figurative boots because of a dictator’s ego.
Roman Abramovich’s Departure From Chelsea
Technically, Chelsea FC’s sale is not entirely a sporting phenomenon as much as it is a business phenomenon. However, it was during the Russian’s tenure as the club’s owner that they tasted the success of outstanding degrees.
Moreover, it was during his tenure that they won the hearts of London’s Chelsea fans as they dominated over all of their arch-rivals with appropriate gusto. Thus, it is all but understandable to see the fans mourn over the loss of the owner who governed over the club, not as a profiteering businessman, but as a lover of the club and the game of football.
It was only obvious to see this coming as the economic sanctions placed upon Russia in the wake of the Russo-Ukrainian war have mostly been aimed at discomforting the Russian public rather than the Premier.
Thus, keeping that ‘aim’ in mind, the UK government froze Roman Abramovich’s assets while casting further questions at his relations with the Russian Kremlin. Thus, to avert the unwarranted gaze from the authorities and save the West London club’s face, he announced his decision to step off from its ownership and use the proceeds of the sale for investment into the club’s charities.
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FIFA And UEFA Give A Joint Statement Banning Russian Participation
As tensions mounted in Ukraine, the football governing bodies of FIFA and UEFA chose to not mince any words and cut right to the chase. According to their declaration, no Russian team, both international and on the club level, would be permitted to play any football tournament organized by either of the two bodies.
Thus, in accordance with the sanction, Russian football teams have been ousted out of the respective competitions “until further notice.”
With the recent sanctions, although there exists no team in either of the UEFA men’s or women’s Champions League, Spartak Moscow in the Europa League has been banned from playing further in the competition.
The fixture between Spartak Moscow and RB Leipzig has thus been nullified with Leipzig attaining promotion to the Quarter Finals by default. In a similar vein, FIFA’s sanction has now resulted in the Russian National Team being given the boot by the organization as their FIFA Qualifier match with Poland stands cancelled, as of now.
World Of Tennis Has Already Said Its Goodbyes To The Russians
The international Tennis governing body of the International Tennis Federation has made it fairly clear as to how they perceive the situation in Russia and the country’s stance. The order stated that the Russian Tennis Federation alongside the Belarus Tennis Federation would be banned with immediate effect, indefinitely.
This essentially means that neither the RTF nor the BTF will be permitted to field their teams for the 2022 Davis Cup or the 2022 Billie Jean King Cup.
However, there does exist an exception, wherein the ATP and the WTA have decided to permit the Russian and Belarusian players to play and participate in the tour as individuals and not represent the country or the country’s flag. In a joint statement, they also declared the cancellation of the WTA / ATP combined event scheduled for October in Moscow.
FIBA Sanctions Against The Russians
The International Basketball Federation elucidated upon their decision to suspend the Russian basketball team from getting onto the court for matches indefinitely. As accorded by the organization itself, they elucidated the happening by stating that Russian players and officials would “not be allowed to participate in FIBA Basketball and 3×3 Basketball competitions until further notice.”
Suspension From Paralympics In Beijing
With the Paralympic Winter Games 2022 underway, the Ukrainian crisis has lent another layer to the entire scenario as the International Paralympic Committee sought to decide whether or not to provide Russians and Belarusians with the opportunity to participate.
Fair to state that it would be amazingly anti-climactic for the athletes who had put in as much effort as they did, only for them to not participate at the end of the day.
Thus, it was decided by them that they would permit the athletes from the respective countries on the pretext of them participating as neutrals and without alignment.
Furthermore, it had to be agreed to by both the parties that they would cover up their countries’ flags on their uniforms during all official ceremonies and sporting competitions. Additionally, the IPC has also decided to retract the Paralympic Honour that had been bestowed upon Vladimir Putin.
These developments may not seem too dire but it is frighteningly dire to the numerous Russian athletes who depend on their sport for their daily bread. Suffice to say that they will have to go to bed hungry for some time now.
Disclaimer: This article is fact-checked
Image Sources: Google Images
Sources: ABC News, CNN, India Today, Indian Express
Connect with the blogger: @kushan257
This post is tagged under: roman Abramovich, Russia, Russian oligarchs, ukraine, Russia ukraine war, russo ukrainian war, Russian invasion of ukraine, football, Chelsea, English premier league, London derby, Vladimir Putin, Russian military, Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, sanctions, Russia, Putin, Russian President, Pakistan, economic sanctions, United States of America, Joe Biden, Western powers, atp, wta, tennis, Daniil Medvedev, Paralympics, Paralympics Beijing 2022, fifa, UEFA, FIFA sanctions
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