Spartak Moscow Reacts To Losing Their Place In The Europa League Following FIFA/UEFA Ban.

After Russia's suspension from football, Spartak Moscow were automatically disqualified from the Europa League with their round-of-16 opponents RB Leipzig advancing into the quarterfinals.

FIFA and UEFA confirmed on Monday that Russia and Russian clubs alike will play no further part in their competitions till further notice following the recent attacks on Ukraine.

The decision was adopted by the Bureau of the FIFA Council and the Executive Committee of UEFA, the highest decision-making bodies of FIFA and UEFA, and was made effective immediately and covers all existing agreements including the UEFA Champions League, UEFA national team competitions and UEFA EURO 2024.

"Football is fully united here and in full solidarity with all the people affected in Ukraine. Both Presidents hope that the situation in Ukraine will improve significantly and rapidly so that football can again be a vector for unity and peace among the people," FIFA's said in a statement.

The ban from FIFA and UEFA means Russia will not be able to face Poland in the World Cup qualifying playoff set to be played on March 24, with Spartak Moscow also losing their Europa League round of 16 place to the German side, RB Leipzig.

UEFA also reportedly decided to end its partnership with Russian company Gazprom across all competitions.

"The recent decision taken by UEFA and FIFA to exclude our team from Europa League is although expected, but extremely upsetting.... Reads a statement released by Spartak Moscow via the club's website.

"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."

The Russian Football Federation also said in a statement: “The Russian Football Union categorically disagrees with the decision of FIFA and UEFA. We believe that this decision is contrary to the norms and principles of international competition. It is obviously discriminatory.”