European football’s governing body, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), has extended its suspension of Russian national teams and clubs from its competitions for the 2026/27 season. The decision keeps Russia frozen out of the European game for a fifth consecutive campaign.
UEFA’s Executive Committee amended the list of participants for the season to bring it into line with the existing suspension, according to an official document published on the body’s website. It also redistributed titleholder places and reallocated access through the European performance-based quota.
The move means Russian clubs would again be absent from the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League. Russian sides would also miss the Nations League, futsal championships and the Regions’ Cup.
Russia has been barred from international football since late February 2022, when UEFA and world governing body FIFA suspended the country after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Russian national team lost its chance to reach the 2022 World Cup in Qatar through the play-offs, and Russian clubs were shut out of European competition.
On the back of last season, Russia had slipped to 28th in UEFA’s coefficient rankings, a position that in theory would have allowed it to enter four clubs in European tournaments.
With no competitive fixtures open to it, the Russian national team has been left to play friendly matches alone. Its recent opponents have included Burkina Faso, Egypt, Mali and Nicaragua.
UEFA had briefly softened its position in September 2023, when its Executive Committee agreed to readmit Russian under-17 sides. It reversed that decision around a month later amid political and sporting pressure, and the wider ban has held since.
The latest extension followed an appeal in early June from the Ukrainian Association of Football, the country’s National Olympic Committee and its Ministry of Youth and Sport. The three bodies jointly urged FIFA and UEFA to keep the sanctions in place and to widen them to cover Belarus.
Belarus, a close ally of Moscow, has so far faced a narrower restriction. Since 2022 its national teams have been barred only from playing Ukraine in UEFA competitions, leaving them otherwise free to enter European football.
Despite its sporting isolation, Russia has continued to press for reinstatement, both through diplomatic channels and within international football’s governing structures.
