According to Euronews, the organization’s executive committee has updated the list of participants in the next season, bringing it “in line with the current suspension of Russian national teams and clubs.” The adjustments also affected the allocation of places in tournaments and access to sports coefficients.
Thus, Russian clubs will once again not be represented in the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League, while the Russian national team will remain out of official UEFA tournaments.
The restrictions have been in place since the end of February 2022, when FIFA and UEFA decided to suspend Russian teams following the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Since then, the Russian national team has only played friendly matches and clubs have been barred from playing in European competitions. Recent opponents of the national team include Burkina Faso, Egypt, Mali and Nicaragua.
Attempts to relax the restrictions have been made before. In 2023, UEFA considered the option of allowing Russia’s junior national teams (under-17), but this decision was canceled a month later amid political and sporting pressure.
In parallel, diplomatic pressure on international soccer structures continues. In early June, the Ukrainian Football Association, the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine and the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine sent appeals to maintain the sanctions and extend the restrictions to Belarus.
Despite the sporting isolation, Russia formally retains its place in the UEFA rating system and receives minimum coefficient accruals, as well as continues to participate in solidarity funding programs for children’s and youth soccer.
