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RUSSIAN FOOTBALL UNION WITHDRAWS APPEAL AGAINST FIFA BAN

The Russian Football Union has withdrawn its appeal against FIFA’s decision to throw Russia out of the World Cup following the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

Russian clubs and national teams are currently suspended by the world governing body, as well as European body UEFA, meaning Russia were not allowed to play their World Cup play-off semi-final against Poland last month.

Poland, along with Sweden and the Czech Republic, who contested the other semi-final in the same qualification path, had all refused to play against Russia. A number of other countries, including England, had also said they would boycott matches against Russia.

Poland were given a bye to the play-off final, where they beat Sweden to book their place in Qatar later this year.

The RFU took its case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but CAS said on Tuesday that the appeal against the ban was withdrawn on March 30.

“This procedure will be terminated shortly,” CAS added in a statement.

However, the RFU is standing by its appeal against the ban on Russian teams in UEFA competitions.

Spartak Moscow were thrown out of the Europa League, while the country’s under-21s side have been expelled from competition and their women’s team are banned from Euro 2022 this summer.

A date for the appeal has yet to be set, with a panel of arbitrators currently being put together.

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UKRAINE’S ANDRIY YARMOLENKO GETS EMOTIONAL AFTER SCORING ON RETURN FOR WESTHAM

Andriy Yarmolenko scored an emotional goal on his return to football as West Ham beat Aston Villa 2-1.

The Ukraine forward was back in the Hammers squad for the first time since being granted compassionate leave due to the war in his homeland.

Yarmolenko received a standing ovation from both sets of fans as he came on as a 53rd-minute substitute for Michail Antonio.

And the 32-year-old, whose family are still in Ukraine, was in tears after firing West Ham into the lead in the 70th minute.

It was a memorable, poignant moment in an otherwise forgettable match at the London Stadium.

Pablo Fornals hit West Ham’s second and Jacob Ramsey grabbed Villa’s consolation as the Hammers ended a three-game losing streak in all competitions.

But it came at a cost with injuries to Antonio and Aaron Cresswell, bad news with the second leg of their Europa League last-16 tie against Sevilla just four days away.
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Left-back Cresswell had been West Ham’s chief attacking threat, creating an early chance for Said Benrahma who skipped between two challenges but fired too close to Emi Martinez.

Villa, who lost full-back Lucas Digne to an early hamstring injury, almost took the lead when Ramsey brushed off Ben Johnson to burst into the area and feed Philippe Coutinho, whose attempted back-heel was blocked by Lukasz Fabianski.

The best chance of the first half fell to West Ham when Cresswell swung in another cross which Tomas Soucek met with a glancing header that flew inches wide.

The half ended on a painful note for Villa’s Douglas Luiz, who took an accidental kick to the mouth from Manuel Lanzini.

West Ham’s hectic schedule, and painfully thin squad, looked to be catching up with them when Antonio and Cresswell limped off in quick succession after the break.

Villa were inches from going ahead when Danny Ings prodded the ball goalwards from a corner and Fabianski tipped the ball against a post.

Moments later, from a West Ham corner, Kurt Zouma’s header was parried into the air by Martinez and Craig Dawson headed the rebound over.

But then came Yarmolenko’s moment, and what a goal it was. The wideman took one touch to control Benrahma’s lay-off with his right foot, then spun and lashed the ball home with his left.

The London Stadium erupted as Yarmolenko’s team-mates engulfed him, and he emerged from the celebrations in tears.

Fornals doubled West Ham’s advantage when he swept home Benrahma’s cross, and although Ramsey made it a nervy end with an 89th-minute strike the hosts held out.

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PREMIER LEAGUE SUSPENDS BROADCAST DEAL IN RUSSIA OVER INVASION OF UKRAINE

LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 07: Players, officials and fans take part in a minute of applause to indicate peace and sympathy with Ukraine prior to the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Everton at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on March 07, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Premier League games will not be shown on Russian television after the governing body suspended its agreement with broadcast partner Rambler.

All 20 clubs agreed with the decision, which was made at a shareholders’ meeting in London on Tuesday as the Premier League continued to react to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The EFL has withdrawn access to its iFollow and other club streaming services in Russia while the Football Association is in contact with the company that controls rights for the FA Cup in the region.

The Premier League will also donate £1million to support the people affected by the war.

A statement read: “The Premier League and its clubs today unanimously agreed to suspend our agreement with Russian broadcast partner Rambler (Okko Sport) with immediate effect and to donate £1 million to support the people of Ukraine.

“The League strongly condemns Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. We call for peace and our thoughts are with all those impacted.

“The £1 million donation will be made to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) to deliver humanitarian aid directly to those in need.

The move comes after there was league-wide support for Ukraine over the weekend, where club captains wore special armbands, messages of support were displayed on big screens and there was a moment of reflection before kick-off at each of the 10 games.

The statement added: “This message of solidarity was visible to fans around the world across Premier League digital channels and via match broadcasts.

“This is in addition to the numerous ways in which clubs continue to display their support.”

Rights for the FA Cup in Russia are owned by IMG, and the PA news agency understands the Football Association is in regular contact with them over the situation.

EFL matches and club content will no longer be available in Russia after the governing body stopped access to iFollow and other streaming services.

A statement read: “Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent humanitarian crisis that is unfolding in the region, the EFL has suspended the broadcast feeds of its matches in the Russian Federation.

“Access to the EFL’s iFollow service and other club streaming services have also been withdrawn in the territory.

“Echoing the views of the Premier League and other organisations around the world, the EFL remains deeply concerned by the ongoing conflict. As has been demonstrated at EFL grounds around the country, ‘Football Stands Together’ with the people of Ukraine and all those impacted.”

The Government has endorsed the Premier League’s decision, with sports minister Nigel Huddleston saying Russian president Vladimir Putin must remain a “pariah”.

He said: “This is absolutely the right thing to do and we fully support the Premier League’s decision to stop broadcasting matches in Russia in response to Putin’s barbaric, senseless invasion of Ukraine.

“Russia cannot be allowed to legitimize its illegal war through sport and culture, and we must work together to ensure Putin remains a pariah on the international stage.”

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FIFA POSTPONES UKRAINE’S WORLD CUP QUALIFIER AGAINST SCOTLAND

Fifa has postponed Ukraine’s World Cup play-off semi-final against Scotland.

The nations were slated to meet at Hampden on March 24 but Ukraine requested last week that the world governing body push back the tie following Russia’s invasion of its country.

As a result, the play-off final for the winners against either Wales or Austria on March 29 will also be delayed.

A new date will now have to be found in the international calendar, with the Nations League window in June an option.

Fifa had already banned Russia from the 2022 World Cup but risk an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The World Cup finals take place from November 21-December 18 in Qatar, the first time football’s global showpiece will be held in the Middle East.

It follows Monday’s announcement by Fifa that foreign players and coaches working in Russia and Ukraine will be allowed to temporarily suspend their contracts and move elsewhere.

Sports bodies have barred Russia from international competition following the invasion of Ukraine and Fifa said the new measures were designed “to facilitate the departure of foreign players and coaches from Russia” should they wish to leave.

“Foreign players and coaches will have the right to unilaterally suspend their employment contracts until the end of the season in Russia [June 30],” Fifa said in a statement.

“Players and coaches will be considered ‘out of contract’ until 30 June 2022 and will therefore be at liberty to sign a contract with another club without facing consequences of any kind.”

The contacts will be suspended until the end of this season allowing players and coaches to work elsewhere, and they would then be free to move on permanently next season.

Fifa said the move was chiefly to provide players and coaches with the opportunity to work and receive a salary, and to protect Ukrainian clubs brought to a halt by invasion.

Minor players fleeing Ukraine will be treated by Fifa as refugee minors, allowing them access to the international transfer market normally closed to under 18s.

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RUSSIA SET TO BE EXPELLED FROM WORLD CUP OVER INVASION OF UKRAINE

Russia are set to be expelled from the World Cup over the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

The PA news agency understands the game’s global governing body FIFA is in advanced talks to suspend the Russian Football Union.

It is working closely with European confederation UEFA, and it is expected a joint statement confirming the RFU’s suspension could come later on Monday.

The suspension would mean that, barring an unlikely change of course in the Russian invasion, the country would not be able to face Poland in a World Cup play-off semi-final next month.

The International Olympic Committee issued a recommendation to international sports federations earlier on Monday to exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes, officials and teams from international competitions wherever possible.

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ANDRIY SHEVCHENKO STEPS DOWN AS UKRAINE MANAGER

Andriy Shevchenko has stepped down as Ukraine manager after his contract came to an end.

The former Chelsea and AC Milan striker took over as national boss in 2016 and guided Ukraine to the quarter-finals at Euro 2020, where they were eliminated 4-0 by England.

Shevchenko wrote on Instagram: “Today, my contract with the Ukrainian Football Association came to the end.

“I spent five years with the National team. It was hard work that proved that we are capable of playing modern football. I am grateful to the president and the executive committee of the UAF for the opportunity to work with the Ukrainian National team.

“I am thankful to every player, every person who helped and was involved in the team.

“Many thanks to all the fans for their support and criticism. Together, we managed to show that our football can be competitive, productive and exciting.”

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HARRY KANE SCORES BRACE, AS ENGLAND THRASH UKRAINE 4-0 TO SAIL INTO EURO SEMI-FINALS

Harry Kane struck twice as England thrashed Ukraine 4-0 on Saturday to reach their first European Championship semifinal since 1996 and set up a clash with Denmark.

The England captain raced onto a Raheem Sterling through ball to fire in the opener from close range after four minutes at the Stadio Olimpico, England’s earliest goal in a Euros match since 2004.

Harry Maguire headed home a second less than a minute into the second half and Kane soon nodded in his side’s third as Ukraine’s resistance crumbled.

Substitute Jordan Henderson completed the rout with his first international goal to ensure England’s comfortable passage into the last four.

Gareth Southgate’s side will face Denmark at Wembley on Wednesday for a place in the final after the Danes defeated the Czech Republic 2-1 in Baku.

Fans had barely settled in their seats by the time England took the lead with a well-worked move.

Sterling cut in off the left wing and slid a through ball into a pocket of space behind the defence for Kane to race through and guide into the net with a neat finish.

Ukraine mustered their first effort when Kyle Walker gave the ball away in midfield and Roman Yaremchuk raced through to draw a good save by Jordan Pickford from a tight angle, while England’s Declan Rice and Jadon Sancho had shots beaten away by Georgiy Bushchan before halftime.

But England flexed their muscles after the break and ended the game as a contest within five minutes of the restart, helped by two fine assists from Luke Shaw.

The left-back whipped a free-kick onto Maguire’s head for a close-range finish in the first minute of the second half before steering a perfect delivery towards Kane for a simple close-range header four minutes later.

The goal sent Kane level with Alan Shearer as England’s second-top scorer at major tournaments with nine goals, behind Gary Lineker on 10, and he was denied a hat-trick when his ferocious volley was palmed away by the diving Bushchan.

England made it four from the resulting corner when Ukraine again failed to deal with a set-piece delivery as Henderson nodded in from six yards to score his first goal for his country on his 62nd cap.

“There was a lot of pressure on us as we were favourites to win this game. To perform like we did tonight, a clean sheet, four goals, it was the perfect night,” Kane said.

Maguire was proud of England’s accomplishment but wasn’t satisfied.

“It’s a great feeling — back-to-back semifinals at a major tournament is a great achievement. I don’t want to be a party pooper but we don’t stop here. We’ve got another big game coming up and we want to go further this time,” Maguire said.

“We had good parts of the game, but set pieces did not work very well for us today,” said Ukraine coach Andriy Shevchenko. “I am really happy with how the team performed. I want to thank the players for their attitude today.”

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AUSTRIA REACH EURO KNOCKOUT STAGES AFTER VICTORY OVER UKRAINE

Austria progressed to the knockout stages of the European Championship for the first time after Christoph Baumgartner’s goal secured a 1-0 win over Ukraine in Bucharest.

Baumgartner produced what proved the decisive moment with a 21st-minute finish as Franco Foda’s men leapfrogged their opponents to claim second spot in Group C and set up a last-16 meeting with Italy at Wembley on Saturday.

Andriy Shevchenko’s Ukraine, meanwhile, must wait to see if they have done enough among the third-placed finishers to advance themselves, having ended up with three points from their three group matches.

A positive start from Austria saw early efforts sent off-target by Marcel Sabitzer and Aleksander Dragovic.

There was also a shot deflected wide from Marko Arnautovic, who was available again after being banned against Holland for insulting another player in his side’s opener against North Macedonia.

Five minutes later Austria grabbed the lead when David Alaba delivered a corner from the left and Baumgartner diverted the ball in with an outstretched leg.

Ukraine threatened just before the half-hour mark as Mykola Shaparenko saw his shot pushed away by Daniel Bachmann, with Andriy Yarmolenko just unable to get his boot to the loose ball.

Baumgartner, who had been involved in a clash of heads with Illia Zabarnyi prior to scoring, then had to be replaced by Alessandro Schopf, before Konrad Laimer had a curling attempt punched away by Georgi Bushchan.

As Austria continued to push for a second goal late in the first half, Arnautovic spurned a great chance as he side-footed wide near the penalty spot having been teed up in fine style by Schopf, then had a tame effort gathered by Bushchan, before Laimer missed the target with a skewed hit.

After the break, Xaver Schlager saw one strike saved by Bushchan and put another wide, before Bachmann was called upon to keep the ball out when it came off Laimer’s head.

Ukraine went close again with two minutes of normal time remaining, with Roman Yaremchuk flashing a shot across the face of goal as Shevchenko’s side failed to rescue a draw that would have seen them retain second place.

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UKRAINE STAND TALL AGAINST NORTH MACEDONIA TO CLAIM FIRST EURO WIN

Soccer Football - Euro 2020 Qualifier - Group B - Ukraine v Portugal - NSC Olympiyskiy, Kiev, Ukraine - October 14, 2019 Ukraine's Andriy Yarmolenko celebrates at the end of the match REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

Ukraine got their first win at Euro 2020 as they beat North Macedonia 2-1 in Bucharest on Thursday.

Andriy Yarmolenko and Roman Yaremchuk scored for Ukraine in the first half as they became the first duo to score in each of their team’s first two matches in European Championship history, having both found the net in their 3-2 defeat to the Netherlands.

Leeds United’s Ezgjan Alioski pulled a goal back in the second half as he scored the rebound after his initial penalty was saved by Ukraine goalkeeper Georgiy Bushchan following a foul on Goran Pandev.

Both sides came into this match having lost their opening games — North Macedonia went down 3-1 to Austria — but, despite facing a fast start from their opponents, Ukraine’s greater quality soon showed as they created the majority of the chances.

The opening goal came on 29 minutes as Yarmolenko finished off from close range following a corner from the impressive Ruslan Malinovskyi.

Yarmolenko then turned provider five minutes later as he played Yaremchuk for a cool finish past North Macedonia goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski.

Pandev produced a lovely dinked finish over Bushchan on 39 minutes, but the goal was ruled out for a clear offside.

North Macedonia started the second half with more purpose and were rewarded for their endeavour on 56 minutes when Argentine referee Fernando Rapallini pointed to the spot following a foul by Oleksandr Karavayev on Pandev. Alioski saw his effort saved, but was first to the rebound to power home.

Malinovskyi missed the chance to wrap up the win for Ukraine when he saw his 83rd-minute penalty awarded for handball saved. It was the fourth spot kick missed of five awarded throughout the tournament so far.

If Netherlands avoid defeat in the other Group C match with Austria later on Thursday, major tournament debutants North Macedonia will become the first team eliminated from Euro 2020. They face Frank de Boer’s side in their final group game on Monday. Ukraine’s next task is a clash with Austria on the same day.

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EURO 2020: NETHERLANDS EDGE OUT UKRAINE IN FIVE-GOAL THRILLER

The Netherlands made a dramatic return to major tournament football, snatching a late 3-2 victory over Ukraine having squandered a two-goal lead in their Euro 2020 opener.

The side had failed to qualify for the previous European Championships and the 2018 World Cup and began their return to the big stage looking like they were desperate to make up for lost time.

But having gone 2-0 up with less than an hour to go through Georginio Wijnaldum and Wout Weghorst they collapsed, conceding twice in four minutes to Andriy Yarmolenko and Roman Yaremchuk.

However, they were rescued by PSV defender Denzel Dumfries who headed home his first international goal at the far post with five minutes remaining, having earlier wasted a great chance with the game goalless.

Frank De Boer’s side registered seven shots in the opening 15 minutes alone with two of their most experienced players, Mephis Depay and Wijnaldum, running the show.

But a combination of ineffective finishing and goalkeeper Georgiy Buschan meant they were frustrated for 52 minutes before the previously impeccable goalkeeper pushed Dumfries’ cross straight out to the former Liverpool midfielder and he calmly passed the ball into the net for his 23rd goal in 76 appearances.

Coincidentally, the new Paris St Germain signing was the last player to score for Holland at a major tournament, 2,528 days ago at the 2014 World Cup.

Weghorst, who had been relatively ineffective, fired home his first international competitive goal seven minutes later but the celebrations in Amsterdam’s Johan Cruyff Arena were cut short when West Ham winger Yarmolenko curled home a brilliant effort before Yaremchuk’s powerful header levelled up the Group C encounter.

At that point there was the potential for the hosts to implode completely but the 25-year-old Dumfries picked the perfect time to open his Oranje account and make it a memorable return after a seven-year absence.

Such was their dominance De Boer’s side should have cruised to victory.

Lyon’s former Manchester United forward Depay set the tone with a one-man counter-attack from 15 yards inside his own half with barely two minutes on the clock, forcing the first of a number of saves from Buschan.

With both wing-backs in the 3-5-2 formation pushing on it was no surprise to see the right-sided Dumfries regularly appearing in the final third but there was no excuse for him missing a free header from Depay’s cross five minutes before the interval.

It was, merely, a prelude to what turned into an exciting finish in which Ukraine’s goalkeeper had played his part, making the save of the match as, wrong-footed, he stuck out a left hand to keep out Wijnaldum’s deflected first-half volley.