The Court of Arbitration for Sport has upheld UEFA’s decision on the withdrawal of Russian football clubs from participation in competitions held under the auspices of the union. UEFA took this decision on February 28, 2022, after the start of the Russian military invasion of Ukraine. In May last year, four Russian Premier League clubs – CSKA, Dynamo, Zenit and Sochi – went to court to overturn UEFA’s decision, calling it discriminatory. However, the court refused.
In the reasoned part of the court decision, published On Friday, it was declared that UEFA had not violated the principle of political neutrality, and its refusal to participate in Russian clubs cannot be considered discriminatory or disproportionate.
Russian clubs pointed out that some other sports associations, such as the Association of Professional Female Tennis Players and the Women’s Tennis Association, do not ban the participation of Russian athletes in their competitions. However, according to the court, football is a special sport in which fans are particularly likely to overreact and allow incidents “motivated by racism, nationalism and religious intolerance”. The Court considers that the admission of Russian football teams to competitions may affect the safety of athletes and spectators.
After the start of the war in Ukraine, many sports associations banned the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in their events. The International Olympic Committee only allows them under a neutral flag. Due to numerous sanctions, 17 top Russian athletes have already chosen to change sports citizenship.
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