Russian Football Union to appeal UEFA, FIFA suspensions amid Ukraine invasion

UEFA and FIFA generated international headlines on Monday when they suspended Russian national teams and clubs from official competitions amid the nation's invasion of Ukraine that has sparked outrage throughout much of the world. 

Unsurprisingly, Russia are fighting back. 

Per ESPN and Sky Sports, the Russian Football Union (RFU) announced Thursday it will appeal the UEFA and FIFA suspensions to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). 

"The RFU will demand the restoration of all men's and women's national teams of Russia in all types of football in the tournaments in which they took part (including in the qualifying round of the World Cup in Qatar), as well as compensation for damage," the governing body said in a statement. 

"In order to ensure the possibility of the participation of Russian teams in the next scheduled matches, the RFU will insist on an expedited procedure for considering the case."

The Russian men were scheduled to host Poland in a World Cup qualifying playoff on March 24, with the winner of that contest to face either Sweden or Czech Republic. However, those three nations announced in a joint statement last week they do not want to play Russia at any point this month. 

"If FIFA and UEFA refuse such a procedure, a requirement will be put forward for the introduction of interim measures in the form of suspension of FIFA and UEFA decisions," the RFU added in its statement. 

The Russian women are currently banned from playing in this summer's UEFA European Championships. Meanwhile, Spartak Moscow were tossed from the Europa League, a move that gifted RB Leipzig a bye to the quarterfinal stages of that competition.