European Athletics has today confirmed a decision to impose sanctions against the Member Federations of Russia and Belarus. The unanimous decision was taken following deliberations of the European Athletics Council members late yesterday evening and is in line with World Athletics’ position. 

The decision means all athletes, support personnel and other officials from Russia and from Belarus will be excluded from participating at any European Athletics’ events for the foreseeable future with immediate effect. 

In the case of Russia this includes all Authorised Neutral Athletes (ANA), as the Russian Athletics Federation (RusAF) has been suspended by World Athletics since 2015 due to doping violations. 

Upcoming European Athletics events include the European Throwing Cup in Leiria, Portugal (12-13 March), the European 10,000m Cup in Pacé, France (28 May), the European Athletics Off-Road Running Championships taking place in El Paso on the Spanish island of La Palma (1-3 July) and the European Athletics U18 Championships in Jerusalem, Israel and the major biennial Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships will take place later this year in Munich, Germany (15-21 August).  

The European Athletics Council will next meet on 6-8 May in Munich, Germany, where further measures against the Belarus Athletic Federation, including suspension of the Federation, will be discussed. 

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