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UEFA bans Russian women from European Championship and 2023 World Cup

The Russian national women’s soccer team will not be allowed to compete in this year’s European Championship and has also been removed from qualifying for next year’s Women’s World Cup.

Those decisions, announced Monday by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), represent an expansion of measures taken by international governing bodies for soccer in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. UEFA also announced Monday that men’s and women’s club teams from Russia will be banned from next season’s Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League tournaments.

UEFA said its executive committee chose to implement several measures regarding upcoming competitions “to ensure their smooth staging in a safe and secure environment for all those concerned.