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Portugal will replace Russia for the July 6-31 tournament in
England, having lost to them in the qualifying play-offs. They
will join the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland in Group C.
UEFA also ruled Russia's bid to host the men's Euros in 2028 and
2032 ineligible, which means Britain and Ireland's joint bid to
host Euro 2028 is rivalled only by Turkey, who also declared an
interest in hosting the 2032 tournament.
The governing body said Russia's bid was ineligible in
accordance with its regulations, which states "each bidder shall
ensure that it does not act in a manner that could bring UEFA,
the UEFA final or UEFA final phase, any other bidder, the
bidding procedure or European football into disrepute".
Additionally, Russian clubs will not compete in UEFA's Champions
League, Europa League or Europa Conference League next season.
The winners of the Scottish Premiership will take the place of
Russian champions Zenit St Petersburg in the 2022-23 Champions
League group stage.
UEFA said in a statement its executive committee took the
decisions to "ensure their smooth staging in a safe and secure
environment for all those concerned".
The statement also said Russia will not participate in the
Nations League, which begins in June, and will be automatically
relegated from their second-tier group.
UEFA and world governing body FIFA suspended Russian clubs and
national teams from their competitions until further notice
after the invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a "special
military operation".
As a result of the sanctions, German club RB Leipzig advanced to
this season's Europa League quarter-finals at the expense of
Russian side Spartak Moscow after their last-16 clash was called
off.
In March, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rejected a
request from Russia's football association (FUR) to freeze
FIFA's suspension, effectively ending its hopes of competing at
the World Cup in Qatar, before the FUR withdrew its appeal.
Several national soccer associations announced they would not
play against Russia in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine,
including those of Poland, Sweden and the Czech Republic.
(Reporting by Hritika Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Hugh
Lawson and Pritha Sarkar)
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