European Athletics has today confirmed a decision to impose sanctions against the Member Federations of Russia and Belarus. The unanimous decision was taken following deliberations of the European Athletics Council members yesterday (1) evening and is in line with World Athletics’ position.
The decision means all athletes, support personnel and other officials from Russia and from Belarus will be excluded from participating at any European Athletics’ events for the foreseeable future with immediate effect.
In the case of Russia this includes all Authorised Neutral Athletes (ANA), as the Russian Athletics Federation (RusAF) has been suspended by World Athletics since 2015 due to doping violations.
The focal point of this year's continental calendar is the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships, which will take place later this year in Munich, Germany (15-21 August).
Other upcoming European Athletics events in 2022 include the European Throwing Cup in Leiria, Portugal (12-13 March), the European 10,000m Cup in Pacé, France (28 May), the European Athletics Off-Road Running Championships taking place in El Paso on the Spanish island of La Palma (1-3 July), the European Athletics U18 Championships in Jerusalem, Israel (4-7 July), and the SPAR European Cross Country Champiuonships in Turin, Italy on 12 December.
The European Athletics Council will next meet on 6-8 May in Munich, Germany, where further measures against the Belarus Athletic Federation, including suspension of the Federation, will be discussed.
European Athletics President, Dobromir Karamarinov, said: “European Athletics is 100 percent aligned with World Athletics, and all other international sports federations, in condemning the current invasion of Ukraine by Russia. The tragic scenes of war and destruction that we are witnessing daily on our television screens and across social media have no place in today’s modern Europe, let alone in our world of sport. The sooner a ceasefire and a solution to this terrible war is found the better for all sides concerned.”