Russia's Spartak Moscow slam 'upsetting' decision to remove club from Europa League
Spartak Moscow have registered their disappointment at UEFA's decision to remove them from the Europa League.
The Russian side were scheduled to take on RB Leipzig in the last 16 of the competition in March.
But they have now been kicked out of the tournament, in line with FIFA and UEFA's decision to ban Russia teams from all of their competitions in the midst of conflict with Ukraine.
What was said?
"UEFA and FIFA have decided to exclude from the current iteration of the Europa League. This means that our round of 16 ties against RB Leipzig will not go ahead as planned," Spartak, who were Russia's sole survivor in European competition prior to the ruling, explained in a statement released on the club's official website on Monday.
The decision to exclude our team from Europa League is upsetting.
— FC Spartak Moscow (@fcsm_eng) February 28, 2022
We believe that sport, even in the most difficult times, should aim to build bridges, and not burn them.
We will focus on domestic competitions and hope for a speedy achievement of peace that everybody needs.
"This verdict is connected to the organisations' position on recent events that have taken place in Ukraine.
"The recent decision taken by UEFA and FIFA although expected, is extremely upsetting. Unfortunately, the efforts that our club made in the Europa League have been nullified for reasons that are far outside the remit of sports.
"Spartak has millions of fans not only in Russia, but all over the world. Our successes and failures bring people from dozens of different countries together. We believe that sport, even in the most difficult times, should aim to build bridges, and not burn them. We are forced to obey a decision that we do not agree with."
For now, we shall focus on domestic competitions, and are looking forward to a speedy achievement of peace that everybody needs."