Ukraine crisis: With war escalating in Ukraine, these Sports, businesses sectors put ban on Russia. The ATP Challenger tournament that was scheduled to take place on Feb. 28 in Moscow was cancelled.
Martial Arts
World Taekwondo has stripped Putin of his honorary black belt. The International Judo Federation has suspended Putin as honorary president. And the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation has suspended Russian MMA Union membership.
Other Sports
Sports federations from basketball to volleyball have also banned the two nations.
Video Games
Electronic Arts Inc. is removing Russian and Belarussian teams from its NHL 22 video games, and Russian teams from FIFA 22.
Film Studios
Walt Disney Co., Sony Corp., and AT&T Inc.’s WarnerMedia have paused the theatrical release of films in Russia including Pixar’s “Turning Red,” Sony’s “Morbius,” and Warner Bros.’ “The Batman.” Paramount Pictures said it would delay the Russian debuts of its films “The Lost City” and “Sonic the Hedgehog 2.” Universal Pictures, a unit of Comcast Corp., joined in the suspensions on March 1.
Olympics
Following the Feb. 24 invasion, the International Olympic Committee issued a statement calling on sports organizations to cancel events in Russia and Belarus. Since then, the two nations have been shut out of most of the top tournaments in the world, including the Winter Paralympics in Beijing, which run March 4 through March 13. The IOC on March 2 approved Russian and Belarussian athletes to participate under a neutral flag, but it reversed that decision on March 3 after member nations protested.
Soccer
FIFA has banned Russia from competing in the World Cup. The European football governing body, UEFA, has moved the May 28 Champions League finals from Saint Petersburg to Paris. And England’s Football Association has said it won’t be playing Russia for the foreseeable future.
Under threat of sanctions for close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich is selling Chelsea FC. In a statement on the English Premier League team’s website, Abramovich said he will be donating all net proceeds from the sale to the victims of the war in Ukraine.
Manchester United, another English Premier League team, has dropped Russian airline Aeroflot as its sponsor.
Figure Skating
The International Skating Union has banned Russian and Belarussian athletes from competing in the World Championships and other international skating competitions, putting Olympians Anna Shcherbakova, Alexandra Trusova and Kamila Valieva at risk of losing their standings in the world rankings.
Hockey
The International Ice Hockey Federation has banned Russia and Belarus from its world championships and other events. The National Hockey League is suspending business partnerships, pausing Russian-language social and digital media sites, and discontinuing any consideration of Russia and Belarus as locations for future NHL competitions.
Skiing
The International Ski Federation has banned Russian and Belarussian athletes from participating in FIS competitions, and is moving World Cup events to locations outside of Russia.
Auto Racing
Russian driver Nikita Mazepin is being allowed to race in Formula 1, but only under a neutral flag. Mazepin’s father is a Russian billionaire with a majority stake in Uralkali, a sponsor of the team. The Haas team has removed sponsor decals from its race car.
The Russian Grand Prix scheduled for Sept. 23 has been canceled.
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Tennis
The Russian Tennis Federation and the Belarus Tennis Federation have been suspended for all international tennis events. Russian tennis players including top-ranked Daniil Medvedev can continue to play, but only under a neutral flag. Rising tennis star Andrey Rublev has been one of the Russian athletes protesting the invasion writing “No War Please” on a TV camera at the Dubai Championships.
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