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Russia has had its bid to host Euro 2028 or 2032 kicked out by UEFA, paving the way for a straight run-off between Turkey and a joint England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Ireland bid.
UEFA also extended the suspension of all Russian teams from European competitions to include this summer’s Women’s Euros and next season’s club tournaments.
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After banning all Russian teams from non-domestic competitions following the invasion of Ukraine in February, UEFA’s Executive Committee has confirmed that the suspension will now cover the whole of next season, meaning no Russian clubs will be able to compete in the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League.
The expulsion of Russia’s team from the Women’s Euros, due to take place in England in July, has seen Portugal replace the side who beat them in last year’s qualification playoffs.
Russia’s surprise entry into the bidding race for the Euros in 2028 and 2032 was condemned by senior politicians, including British prime minister Boris Johnson, when it was announced in March.
But UEFA has now ruled out the prospect of Russia being considered as a host for either tournament.
In a statement, UEFA said, “The UEFA Executive Committee declared the bid submitted by the Football Union of Russia (FUR) to host the UEFA EURO 2028 or the UEFA EURO 2032 as not eligible, in accordance with Article 16.02 of the Bid Regulations UEFA Finals and Final Phases which states that ‘each bidder shall ensure that it does not act in a manner that could bring UEFA, the UEFA final or UEFA final phase, any other bidder (or any employee, officer or representative of any of the foregoing), the bidding procedure or European football into disrepute.’
“Moreover, ‘the automatic qualification of the host team(s) shall be guaranteed (…) for a single host (…)’. Therefore, given the uncertainty as to when the suspension will be lifted, the acceptance of a bid from the FUR would also go against the decision of the UEFA Executive Committee of 28 February 2022, suspending all Russian representative teams and clubs from participating in UEFA competition matches until further notice, if an association, whose teams are currently suspended from participating in any UEFA competition would be allowed to bid for a tournament to be hosted on its territory.”
UEFA will announce the 2028 hosts in September 2023. The hosts for 2032 will be confirmed at the same time, with Russia’s elimination leaving Italy and Turkey to contest the bidding process.