Update as of 3/3/22: The IPC has announced that Russian and Belarusian athletes will be banned from the 2022 Paralympic Games in Beijing.
Update as of 2/28/22: FIFA and UEFA have announced that Russian teams have been banned from competitions until further notice, which include the qualifiers for the upcoming World Cup. IMEX has also announed that Russian companies will be banned from IMEX Frankfurt, taking place at the end of May.
In response to Russia’s full scale-invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, several major events scheduled to take place in Russia have already been relocated or cancelled, while others are imposing restrictions on Russia’s participation. The high-profile cancellations include the Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix set to take place in September in Sochi.
“On Thursday evening Formula 1, the FIA, and the teams discussed the position of our sport, and the conclusion is, including the view of all relevant stakeholders, that it is impossible to hold the Russian Grand Prix in the current circumstances,” their official statement read.
The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has also decided to move the final of the Champions League in May from Saint Petersburg to Paris, adding that for the foreseeable future, Russian and Ukrainian teams will be required to play home games at neutral venues.
In addition, the GSMA has announced that there will be no Russian Pavilion at its upcoming Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona, and TechCrunch reports that several Russian companies will be banned from attending.
Yesterday, the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee followed suit and urged international sports federations to move or cancel events scheduled in Russia or Belarus. With this invasion, Russia has broken the Olympic Truce, which ends one week after the end of the Paralympics taking place in March in Beijing, so this is both a political statement on the part of the IOC and a request for sports leagues to ensure the safety and security of their athletes.
The IOC has already established a task force to provide humanitarian aid to members of the Olympic Community in Ukraine, and in addition to its call to move events, it has also urged sporting events not to display Russian or Belarussian flags or play either of the countries’ national anthems.
As the situation rapidly evolves, we can expect further sanctions on Russia and for more events to be affected.