A week after declaring that Russian teams cannot play international soccer for an indefinite period because of the country’s invasion of Ukraine, soccer’s governing body announced on Monday that foreign players and coaches contracted by Russian teams can suspend their contracts and move elsewhere — at least temporarily.
The decision will affect about 100 top players currently signed to Russian clubs, who will be able to set aside their contracts starting Thursday and sign with new teams through the end of the European season. On June 30, however, their original contracts would come back into force, and those with years left would have to return to their Russian teams or negotiate their departures.