Russia banned from international gymnastics, curling over invasion of Ukraine

The sports community continues to respond to Russia's invasion of Ukraine that has sparked public outrage throughout much of the world. 

According to The Associated Press (h/t ESPN), the International Gymnastics Federation announced Friday that Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials, including judges, are banned from taking part in sanctioned events indefinitely. Additionally, the World Curling Federation excluded the Russian Curling Federation from its championships for the remainder of the season.

Belarus has reportedly been a launch point for Russian troops and equipment entering Ukraine since the start of the conflict. Both gymnastics and curling had already canceled events scheduled to occur in Russia.

The International Paralympic Committee ultimately banned Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in the ongoing Winter Paralympics in Beijing, and The International Ice Hockey Federation suspended Russian and Belarusian clubs and national teams from all of its competitions "until further notice." 

The Russian Football Union announced Thursday it is appealing the suspensions of Russian national teams and clubs from competitions handed down by UEFA and FIFA on Monday, while Formula One confirmed Thursday it terminated its contract with the Russian Grand Prix and announced that "Russia will not have a race in the future." 

European football's main governing body said Thursday that "all Belarusian clubs and national teams competing in UEFA competitions will be required to play their home matches at neutral venues with immediate effect," and both UEFA and FIFA could still boot Belarus from tournaments.