The English Premier League will disappear from Russian TV after suspending its deal with its state-owned broadcast partner after the invasion of Ukraine.
Clubs agreed at a meeting in London on Tuesday to cancel the rights deal with Sberbank-owned Rambler that was due to run until the end of the season.
AS IT HAPPENED: ‘Grim’ Pakistan Test match dawdles to close
READ MORE: What Ricky Ponting wishes he told Shane Warne
READ MORE: Bill Lawry remembers Shane Warne, pays tribute to Rod Marsh
READ MORE: Judo federation removes titles from Vladimir Putin
No decision has been taken yet on whether to annul the new rights contract from next season with Match, which is owned by state energy giant Gazprom.
The league used matches last weekend to show solidarity toward Ukraine, where Russia has been at war for two weeks. The blue and yellow of Ukraine’s flag was displayed across stadiums in England’s top division.
Meantime, the Russian soccer federation appealed to have its FIFA and UEFA bans frozen and other punishments overturned.
Russian teams were expelled from competition on February 28 “until further notice” following the country’s invasion of Ukraine. FIFA and UEFA did not specify their legal reasons.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport said it hoped to decide on the appeals in the coming days.
Russia’s men’s national team was scheduled to play Poland on March 24 in a World Cup qualifying playoff. Poland has refused to play Russia in the match. The winner of that match would have played the winner of the game between Sweden and the Czech Republic in the next round, but they also have refused to play against the Russians.
CAS said the Russian appeals against FIFA and UEFA also involve the Polish, Swedish and Czech soccer federations, plus several other national federations in Europe.
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!