The soccer World Cup is nearing its climax, but the geopolitics of international sports are only just heating up. The executive board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on July 7 that it is provisionally lifting Russia’s suspension from the organization.
It reasoned that Russia “no longer includes as its members any regional sports organizations in territories falling under the jurisdiction of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine,” which was the reason for its suspension in October 2023.
The announcement follows a shift by Gianni Infantino, president of FIFA, world soccer’s governing body. He said in February that he favored lifting the ban on Putin’s regime, imposed four days after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, because it had “achieved nothing.”
Infantino said in April 2025 that he wanted to bring Russia back “in the football landscape because this would mean that everything is solved.”
But the IOC and FIFA appear to have based their change of heart on the unsupportable notion that Russia believes in fair play. This is laughable. It doesn’t. Russia believes in dishonesty and underhanded, if not illegal, behavior by its agents to cheat and distort international sports.
The IOC said Russian athletes will have to be in full compliance with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), but said the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) would do the testing.
This is the same organization the Kremlin used to carry out the largest-ever doping operation in modern sport. The scheme, exposed after the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, resulted in more than 50 medals being stripped from athletes, and the investigations are still ongoing.
As of March, there were more than 300 sporting sanctions in place against Russian athletes.
“Our conclusion was that all of this could not have happened, and continue to happen, without the knowledge of and, either actual or implied, consent of the state authorities,” said Richard Pound, head of the WADA investigation commission.
Infantino’s comments also ignore the legacy of Russia’s 2018 World Cup. The tournament featured stadiums built with North Korean slave labor, channeled massive corruption to Kremlin allies, and shed light on connections between the state and racist and violent Russian soccer hooligans.
And this is all before the world accounts for more than 650 Ukrainian athletes and coaches killed on the battlefield and at home during Russia’s 12-year war.
Many Russian athletes, often competing as “neutrals” in international competition, have supported the Kremlin’s war propaganda, with some even wearing “Z” armbands on the podium.
Now, more than ever, Vladimir Putin craves the legitimacy global sports provide. The Sochi Olympics and 2018 World Cup gave him a prominent place on the world stage, an image he cultivated at every opportunity.
But Russia’s reintegration into world sports is not a foregone conclusion.
“The potential reintegration of any Russian national teams poses a threat to the safety and integrity of competitions,” said Andriy Shevchenko, president of the Ukrainian Football Association.
The French, German, and English soccer associations have rebuffed Russian inclusion in any European or global tournaments, including Euro 2028, which will take place across the UK and Ireland.
“It’s really hard to get your head around them coming back carte blanche to competition,” said Travis Tygart, head of the US Anti-Doping Agency, which is preparing for the 2028 LA Olympics.
While FIFA and the IOC might be trying to take a mile, international sporting leaders must stop them taking the first inch toward the legitimacy the Kremlin craves.
Host nations should enact visa bans and withdraw funding and support from regional and local competitions that intend to allow Russian participation. They should also call out national sporting federations that allow athletes to travel to competitions that host Russian athletes.
Law enforcement must also act against the criminal networks behind Russia’s doping scandals, opening investigations into the supply of banned substances to athletes, bribery of officials, and the ownership of international sporting assets in violation of international sanctions.
Federations in Europe and North America will need to reach out to those in the developing world as part of efforts to counter Russian malign influence.
Infantino has built much of his political support in Africa and Asia, and sporting federations should highlight war crimes carried out by Russian mercenaries across Africa. This could be aligned with funding for sports diplomacy and civil society in the Global South.
It would not only weaken Russia’s propaganda efforts but also reduce the power base of those seeking to bring the Kremlin back into world sports.
Finally, the European Union, UK, and US must ensure the integrity of the 2028 LA Olympics, 2028 Euros, and 2030 World Cup and Winter Olympics. This means offering additional financial support to reduce FIFA and IOC leverage over these events and assisting national and international sporting federations to host events as they see fit.
The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) can block Russia’s entry to the World Cup qualifying rounds, and sources told the Guardian that it was determined to do so.
These major international events should also be used to highlight the courage and sporting prowess of Ukrainian athletes in the face of Russian aggression.
The IOC claimed it “remains committed to promoting peace through sport among people and nations.”
But letting Russian athletes compete means letting the Kremlin back onto the field, and putting the Kremlin back into the VIP boxes of world leadership.
Putin plays to win — and the world can be sure he will stop at nothing to get what he wants.
Michael Newton is the Director for Communications and Information Systems at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA). He is the author of the 2018 World Cup: The Beautiful Game and an Ugly Regime, published by the Commission for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Europe’s Edge is CEPA’s online journal covering critical topics on the foreign policy docket across Europe and North America. All opinions expressed on Europe’s Edge are those of the author alone and may not represent those of the institutions they represent or the Center for European Policy Analysis. CEPA maintains a strict intellectual independence policy across all its projects and publications.
