UEFA says ban on Russia 'difficult to lift' until war ends

Re-elected UEFA chief Aleksander Ceferin has said today it will be "very difficult" to lift Russia's suspension from European competitions until the war in Ukraine ended. 

The ban was put in place in February last year. 

"My personal opinion is that until the war stops it will be very difficult for us to change anything," Ceferin told a news conference during UEFA's Ordinary Congress in Lisbon.

The ban has so far resulted in the expulsion of all Russian club teams from UEFA competitions, the exclusion of Russia from Euro 2024, and the relocation of last year's Champions League final from St Petersburg to Paris.