Spartak Moscow Set To Be Kicked Out Of The Europa League

Spartak Moscow are set to be kicked out of the Europa League, according to reports, with RB Leipzig handed a bye into the quarter finals.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has left football with plenty of questions to answer, with lots of countries saying they will not face any Russian teams.

Three of those countries are the sides who could face Russia in the upcoming World Cup qualification play-offs next month, with FIFA trying to placate them with some very mild sanctions.

UEFA have acted faster generally, and have already moved the Champions League final from St Petersburg to Paris for this May, despite Russia expressing 'regret' over the move.

Europe's football governing body had already said Russian and Ukrainian teams would have to play at neutral venues in club competitions, but could be about to go further.

According to German outlet Bild, Moscow will be excluded from the competition going forward and won't replace the side, meaning Leipzig will go through instead.

The two sides were due to meet in Germany for the first leg and then in Russia the week after, before the ban on their home games was in place.

There had yet to be any discussion held about where the neutral venue for the second leg might have been, but it seems that will now not matter.

Spartak are the last Russian or Ukrainian side left in any of UEFA's club competitions this season, after Zenit St Petersburg were knocked out of the Europa League by Real Betis last week.

Shakhtar, who are often still in one of the top two European club competitions at this stage of the season, finished fourth in their Champions League group this season so are already out.

France have also called for Russia to be kicked out of the World Cup in Qatar later this year, and with their trio of potential opponents saying they won't play the games it leaves FIFA in a tough place.

The English FA have also said they won't face any Russian team in the near future, which also puts questions on the participation of the Women's national team at the Euros in England this summer.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Russia, Ukraine, Europa League, RB Leipzig, Bundesliga, Germany

Ryan Sidle

Ryan is a journalist for SPORTbible with over eight years of experience. Passionate about all sports, he mainly covers football and F1 - Daniel Ricciardo once spent an entire interview referring to him as 'Ryan Gosling,' still his proudest moment.

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