A list of sporting events affected due to Russia-Ukraine War

Russia have been hit hard across multiple sports.

The entire world has been shaken by the tensions between Russia and Ukraine. With both the countries inflicting casualties on each other, several walks of life within these countries have also experienced the vibrations of the war. Trade, supply, ties and other socio-political aspects have gone through dramatic changes. Moreover, the arena of sports has also been pushed to the brink.

Russia has been one of the dominant countries in several sports. It has witnessed a lot of cracks and splits in its upcoming calendar of sporting events. From venue changes to team withdrawals, the heat of war has viciously spread to other areas as well.

Let’s have a look at all the sporting events where Russia was supposed to be the leading representative or even the host and how it will affect different federations around the world.

Football

FIFA World Cup 2022 Qualifiers

The 2022 FIFA World Cup playoffs were supposed to be played in Russia next month. However, countries like Sweden, Poland and the Czech Republic demanded a shift of venue. They made the request due to the tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

While appealing for this, their statement said, “The signatories to this appeal do not consider travelling to Russia and playing football matches there. The military escalation that we are observing entails serious consequences. It also shows lower safety for our national football teams and official delegations.”

UEFA Champions League’s final venue

St. Petersburg was to be the venue for the UEFA Champions League final in 2022. However, it has now been removed as the host due to security concerns. The venue has been shifted to the French capital Paris.

“UEFA shares the international community’s significant concern for the security situation developing in Europe. We strongly condemn the ongoing Russian military invasion in Ukraine,” the governing body said in a statement.

It added, “We remain resolute in our solidarity with the football community in Ukraine. UEFA stands ready to extend our hand to the Ukrainian people.”

Tennis

The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) announced the cancellation of the ATP Challenger Tournament to be held in Moscow, citing security concerns.

In one of its statements, the ATP said, “The security of players will remain our top priority in assessing the scheduling of subsequent ATP Tour and ATP Challenger Tour events in the region. We continue to monitor the situation.”

Recently, Russian tennis player and World No.1 Daniil Medvedev spoke about “promoting peace” and that he was very much disturbed by what was happening in his country. Andrey Rublev wrote a message on camera which read "No War Please," after winning his match at the Dubai Tennis Championships.

Formula One

The Russian Grand Prix which was supposed to be held in Sochi Autodrom on September 25 this year has also been cancelled by the governing body. It said that it was “impossible” to hold an event like this in the present circumstances.

Earlier, the body had said that the event would go ahead as planned and that a decision would be taken as per the conditions.

Breach of Olympics Truce

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) concluded that Russia had breached the Olympic Truce thrice. The first one included war with Georgia over South Ossetia during the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. The second one was the military takeover of Crimea after the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and lastly the recent invasion of Ukraine soon after the Beijing Winter Olympics 2022.

“The International Olympic Committee (IOC) strongly condemns the breach of the Olympic Truce by the Russian government. The Olympic Truce began seven days before the start of the Olympic Games on 4 February 2022 and ends seven days after the closing of the Paralympic Games," the committee said in a statement.

IOC president Thomas Bech in a statement said, “Observe your commitment to this Olympic Truce. Give peace a chance.”

The International Paralympic Committee also backed the IOC saying that it was in conversation with the Ukrainian government and would also continue to stand its ground in their support.

Basketball

Basketball remains the only sport to be untouched so far. The EuroLeague Basketball decided to go ahead as planned unless there is a government intervention. This means that the calendar is going to proceed without any changes.

However, Bayern Munich said that their match against Moscow in the league has been postponed.

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