The United States appear set to be awarded team figure-skating gold from the 2022 Winter Games after the results achieved by Russian skater Kamila Valieva were officially disqualified.

Valieva, who tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine at the Russian national championships in December 2021, was handed a four-year ban by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Monday.

Valieva, who was 15 at the time, was cleared to compete at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing by the Russian anti-doping agency and the failed test only came to light after she had helped her country to team gold.

The International Olympic Committee has said it can now award team figure-skating medals from the 2022 Games “in accordance with the ranking”.

That means the USA, who originally won silver, would be awarded gold, with the original bronze medallists Japan being upgraded to silver. Canada, who missed out on a medal, look set to get the bronze.

The IOC said it was ready to hold a “dignified” medal ceremony once the results had been officially ratified by the sport’s international federation, the International Skating Union.

“The IOC welcomes the fact that the CAS ruling provides clarity in this case, and the athletes from the team figure skating competition at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 can finally get their medals, for which they have been waiting so long,” an IOC spokesperson said.

“The IOC is now in a position to award the medals in accordance with the ranking, which has to be established by the International Skating Union. We have great sympathy with the athletes who have had to wait for two years to get the final results of their competition.

“The IOC will contact the respective NOCs (national Olympic committees) in order to organise a dignified Olympic medal ceremony.”

Valieva’s ban, backdated to the time of the original failed test, will run until Christmas Day 2025.

CAS found she had been unable to establish that the doping violation had not been committed intentionally, and found her age made no difference in the necessity to prove that the violation was not intentional.

“This case, and its circumstances, are further proof of the need to address the part played by the athletes’ entourage in doping cases,” the IOC spokesperson added.

“This is even more important if the athletes are minors, who are even more reliant on their entourage.”

The IOC only learned of Valieva’s doping violation after the team event in 2022 and immediately sought to appeal the decision of RUSADA to lift her suspension. The appeal was joined by the ISU and the World Anti-Doping Agency but an ad-hoc CAS panel cleared her to keep competing.

She entered the individual figure-skating event but ultimately finished in fourth place.

Russia defeated Iraq 2-0 on Sunday in their first home international since the country invaded Ukraine.

European and global football governing bodies UEFA and FIFA announced in February 2022 that Russia's international and club sides would be suspended from their competitions.

Russia have played Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Iran in friendlies since then, but not since November 2021 had they played on home soil.

Anton Miranchuk gave Russia the lead against Iran early in the second half at the Gazprom Arena and Sergey Pinyaev added a second just before the hour mark.

The venue in Saint Petersburg had been due to host last year's Champions League final, but it was instead held at the Parc des Princes in Paris in wake of Russia's military actions.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino hopes the World Cup can provide an opportunity for a ceasefire in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. 

Russia were excluded from all FIFA and UEFA competitions following the country's invasion of Ukraine in February, preventing their side from competing in March's qualification play-offs for a place in Qatar.

While Russia hosted the last edition of the World Cup in 2018, the tournament could head to Ukraine in 2030 after the war-ravaged nation was invited to join a bid from Spain and Portugal.

Addressing world leaders at a Group of 20 (G20) summit in Indonesia, Infantino called for a temporary ceasefire to be implemented during the tournament, which begins on Sunday.

"Football is a force for good. We are not naive to believe that football can solve the world's problems," Infantino said.

"We know that our main focus as a sports organisation is and should be sports, but because football unites the world, this particular FIFA World Cup, with five billion people watching it, can be a trigger for a positive gesture, for a sign or a message of hope.

"Russia hosted the last World Cup in 2018, and Ukraine is bidding to host the World Cup in 2030. Maybe the current World Cup, starting in five days, can really be that positive trigger.

"My plea to all of you is to think on a temporary ceasefire for one month for the duration of the World Cup, or at least the implementation of some humanitarian corridors, or anything that could lead to the resumption of dialogue as a first step to peace.

"You are the world leaders, you have the ability to influence the course of history. Football and the World Cup are offering you and the world a unique platform of unity and peace all over the world."

Ukraine have only appeared at the World Cup on one occasion as an independent nation, reaching the quarter-finals of the 2006 edition in Germany.

Oleksandr Petrakov's side fell at the final hurdle in qualification for this year's tournament, overcoming Scotland before losing 1-0 in their play-off final against Wales in June.

Bosnia and Herzegovina have postponed their upcoming friendly with Russia amid widespread criticism, including from their own players.

Bosnia announced in September they would face Russia in Saint Petersburg on November 19, a day before the World Cup gets under way in Qatar.

The game would have been Russia's first against a European side since being banned from all FIFA and UEFA competitions following the country's invasion of Ukraine in February.

However, following complaints from Miralem Pjanic and Edin Dzeko, Bosnia's Football Association (NFSBIH) has announced the match will no longer go ahead next month.

"The friendly between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Russia, which was supposed to be played on November 19, will not be played at that time," Monday's statement read.

"At today's session of the executive board of the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the match planned for November 19 was postponed.

"President of NSFSBIH, Mr. Vico Zeljkovic, stated that the playing of this friendly match will be extended for some future date."

Bosnia failed to reach the World Cup after finishing fourth in their qualification group, while Russia were blocked from taking part in March's play-offs as a result of the war in Ukraine.

Russia's only match since last November was a 2-1 friendly win against Kyrgyzstan in Bishkek in September.

The Ukrainian Football Association will appeal to FIFA in a bid to get Iran thrown out of the Qatar World Cup.

A statement from Ukraine’s FA on Monday confirmed its executive committee want Iran to be excluded from the tournament for "possible involvement of Iran in the military aggression of Russia against Ukraine".

Ukraine was invaded by Russia in February. The country's football team reached the final stage of UEFA's qualification play-offs but were beaten by Wales in June.

FIFA and UEFA subsequently banned Russia from playing international football.

The chief executive of Ukrainian Premier League side Shakhtar Donetsk, Sergei Palkin, last week urged FIFA to prevent Iran from competing in Qatar, suggesting Ukraine replace them.

A statement on the Ukrainian FA's website referenced the fact the executive committee had decided to appeal to the world governing body, but did not mention the possibility of replacing them at the tournament.

The statement outlined that the executive had made the decision: "Taking into account media information about systematic human rights violations in Iran, which may violate the principles and norms of the FIFA Statutes, taking into account the UN Security Council Resolution 2231 regarding the imposition of sanctions on Iran and the possible involvement of Iran in the military aggression of Russia against Ukraine, to make a request to the FIFA to consider excluding the Iranian national team from the 2022 FIFA World Cup."

Iran's opening game of the World Cup is scheduled to take place on November 21 against England.

Meanwhile, the Bosnia and Herzegovina FA has confirmed the proposed friendly with Russia on November 19 has been postponed, though the intention remains for it to be played "at a future date".

A statement read: "The friendly match between the national team of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Russia, which was supposed to be played on November 19 in Saint Petersburg, will not be played at that time.

"At today's session of the Executive Board of the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the match planned for November 19 was postponed. President of NS/FS BiH, Mr. Vico Zeljkovic stated that the playing of this friendly match will be extended for some future date."

UEFA has confirmed Russia will not be included in next month's qualifying draw for the 2024 European Championship.

Russia has been exiled by FIFA and UEFA following February's invasion of Ukraine, with the country's national teams and clubs banned from competing in any continental or international competitions.

UEFA confirmed ahead of the 2022-23 season that Russian clubs would be excluded from competing in their tournaments this season, although Euro 2024 was not mentioned in the previous update.

However, while confirming the procedure for the qualifying draw that will take place on October 9, UEFA has now confirmed Russia will not be among the 53 teams drawn.

"All Russian teams are currently suspended following the decision of the UEFA Executive Committee of February 28, 2022 which has further been confirmed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on July 15, 2022. Russia is therefore not included in the UEFA European Football Championship 2022-24 qualifying draw," a statement read.

Germany, hosts of Euro 2024 and automatic qualifiers, will also not be in next month's draw, which will produce seven groups of five teams and three groups of six teams.

The 53 participating teams are seeded according to the overall 2022-23 Nations League rankings and divided into seven pots, with the 10 group winners and runners-up qualifying for the tournament.

Playoffs will decide the final three qualification spots for Euro 2024, which is scheduled to begin on June 14, 2024.

A senior German official has written to UEFA to request both Russia and Belarus are excluded from next month's qualifying draw for Euro 2024.

Following February's invasion of Ukraine, FIFA and UEFA issued a joint statement to confirm that Russia and Belarus, who are supporters of Vladimir Putin's regime, will be banned from competitions "until further notice".

That was followed up an update in May, where UEFA announced Russian clubs would be banned from continental competitions for the 2022-23 season, with Russia also excluded from the Women's Euros.

However, the European Championships in 2024, due to be held in Germany, were not mentioned in UEFA's most recent update.

That has led German federal minister of the interior Nancy Faeser, who oversees sport in her role, to write to UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin to call for both nations to be excluded from the qualifying draw, due to take place on October 9. UEFA did not comment on the matter but did confirm receipt of the letter.

German publication Der Spiegel carries reported quotes from the letter, which they say states: "Not only Russia, which is waging a war of aggression in violation of international law, but also Belarus as an essential supporter of the Russian leadership should be excluded from all international football matches and tournaments."

Faeser adds UEFA should include "the suspension of Russian and Belarusian officials from the influential bodies of international sports federations", as football must "live up to its responsible role and show a united stance against this form of disregard for human rights".

"All those responsible must be deprived of any possibility of sporting participation, influence or other representation."

The letter follows on from requests from Ukrainian Association of Football president Andriy Pavelko, who also requested Russia be excluded from next month's draw.

Ukrainian Association of Football president Andriy Pavelko has urged UEFA to omit Russia from qualifying for the 2024 European Championships.

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, UEFA and FIFA jointly decided that all Russian teams, both international and clubs, would be suspended from their competitions until further notice.

That ban continues into the 2022-23 season, but Russia will be able to play friendly matches, having arranged a controversial clash with Bosnia and Herzegovina on the eve of the World Cup in Qatar.

Bosnia have faced backlash for agreeing to that game, including from current players Miralem Pjanic and Edin Dzeko, with Pavelko also revealing he is doing "everything he can" to stop the game from going ahead.

In regard to qualifying for Euro 2024, the draw will be held on October 9 and Pavelko is determined for Russia to be excluded.

"UEFA's decision formally applies only to official competitions - therefore, it allows Russian football officials to negotiate the possible holding of friendly matches, but the Ukrainian Football Association immediately reacts to such attempts," he said in a statement.

"Recently we wrote letters to FIFA and UEFA with the demand to cancel the match between Russia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, scheduled for November 19.

"We also appealed to the association of Bosnia and Herzegovina, urging them to stand in solidarity with the entire civilised football world and refuse to participate in this match.

"There was also an appeal from our football legends to the players and coaches of the Bosnian national team to refuse to hold the match.

"An official decision has not yet been made regarding this game. But we are doing everything possible to prevent the match from taking place.

"We are taking similar actions in relation to the two friendly matches of the women's teams of Serbia U-17 and Russia U-17 in October.

"We are also currently making efforts at the UEFA level, the purpose of which is to prevent Russia from participating in the Euro 2024 selection draw, which is scheduled to take place on October 9 in Frankfurt.

"The aggressor country cannot be represented in competitions where the national teams of countries, unlike the Russian Federation, respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other states who participate."

Pavelko added that Russia should remain "completely isolated on the international stage, including football" until they "stop committing crimes" and compensate Ukraine for damages.

Bosnia and Herzegovina have scheduled a friendly against Russia one day before the start of the World Cup, sparking controversy and attracting criticism from within their own ranks.

The match is set to take place in Saint Petersburg on November 19, on the eve of Qatar 2022, with the date and Bosnia's opposition both being highly questionable.

Russia's national teams were banned from international competition following the invasion of Ukraine, weeks before the team were due to start a play-off campaign for a potential spot at the World Cup.

Poland, Sweden and the Czech Republic, who were due to be potential opponents for Russia, pressured for the ban to take place, while federations representing England, France and the United States quickly made it clear they would not play them under any circumstances.

Bosnia, meanwhile, failed to qualify for the tournament and the decision to play Russia was condemned by midfielder Miralem Pjanic.

"The decision is not good. I am speechless," Pjanic was quoted as saying by Bosnian media. "In the national Football Association, they know what I think."

Benjamina Karic, the mayor of Bosnian capital Sarajevo, also hit out at the decision in a social media post.

"Sarajevo as the city which has been under the longest siege from aggressors and me as a mayor strongly condemn the decision by the national Football Association to play a friendly match with Russia," Karic said.

"Unless the decision is reversed, we will cease cooperation with the Football Association, which so far has been fruitful."

Russia have not played an international match since last November but are due to face Kyrgyzstan this month and Iran in November.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has upheld FIFA and UEFA's decision to ban Russian national teams from their competitions.

Both governing bodies imposed the suspensions following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February.

The Football Union of Russia (FUR) lodged an appeal with CAS, with the men's national team having been preventing from trying to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar and the women unable to feature in the European Championship - which started this month.

Zenit, Sochi, CSKA Moscow and Dynamo Moscow also challenged UEFA's decision to leave them unable to play in European competitions.

CAS on Friday revealed all six challenges were dismissed by a panel of arbitrators.

A CAS statement said: "In all of these cases, the panel determined that the escalation of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and the public and government responses worldwide, created unforeseen and unprecedented circumstances to which FIFA and UEFA had to respond.

"In determining that Russian teams and clubs should not participate in competitions under their aegis while such circumstances persisted, the panel held that both parties acted within the scope of the discretion granted to them under their respective statutes and regulations.

"In so holding, the Panel found it unnecessary to characterise the nature of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, but only to focus on the consequences of such conflict for the competitions affected.

"The panel finds it unfortunate that the current military operations in Ukraine, for which Russian football teams, clubs, and players have themselves no responsibility, had, by reason of the decisions of FIFA and UEFA, such an adverse effect on them and Russian football generally, but those effects were, in the panel’s view, offset by the need for the secure and orderly conduct of football events for the rest of the world."

Former Russia captain Igor Denisov labelled the ongoing Ukraine invasion a "complete horror", but fears he may be jailed or killed for speaking out.

Russia, with the help of nearby Belarus, invaded neighbouring Ukraine in late February after weeks of heightening political tensions between the two countries.

The actions of Russia have led to widespread condemnation, with financial, sporting and political sanctions imposed on the nation in an attempt to deter the attacks.

Football stars such as Oleksandr Zinchenko and Andriy Shevchenko have repeatedly called for the invasion to stop, but Denisov is one of the most prominent Russian athletes to condemn the attacks.

Former Zenit midfielder Denisov, speaking to sports journalist Nobel Arustamyan in an interview published on YouTube, is still living in Russia and acknowledged he is risking his life by opposing the invasion.

"To me, this war is a catastrophe, a complete horror," said Denisov, who captained his country and earned 54 caps between 2008 and 2016.

"Maybe they'll put me in jail or kill me for these words, but I'm telling it like it is."

The 38-year-old also revealed he has personally written to Russia president Vladimir Putin to urge the attacks to stop.

"I am a proud guy. This was after three or four days," Denisov added. "I even said to him that I am ready to go on my knees before you so that he would stop it all."

Former Russia captain Igor Denisov labelled the ongoing Ukraine invasion a "complete horror", but fears he may be jailed or killed for speaking out.

Russia, with the help of nearby Belarus, invaded neighbouring Ukraine in late February after weeks of heightening political tensions between the two countries.

The actions of Russia have led to widespread condemnation, with financial, sporting and political sanctions imposed on the nation in an attempt to deter the attacks.

Football stars such as Oleksandr Zinchenko and Andriy Shevchenko have repeatedly called for the invasion to stop, but Denisov is one of the most prominent Russian athletes to condemn the attacks.

Former Zenit midfielder Denisov, speaking to sports journalist Nobel Arustamyan in an interview published on YouTube, is still living in Russia and acknowledged he is risking his life by opposing the invasion.

"To me, this war is a catastrophe, a complete horror," said Denisov, who captained his country and earned 54 caps between 2008 and 2016.

"Maybe they'll put me in jail or kill me for these words, but I'm telling it like it is."

The 38-year-old also revealed he has personally written to Russia president Vladimir Putin to urge the attacks to stop.

"I am a proud guy. This was after three or four days," Denisov added. "I even said to him that I am ready to go on my knees before you so that he would stop it all."

UEFA has extended its ban on Russian teams competing in European competition until at least the end of next season and declared the country's bid to host Euro 2028 or Euro 2032 "ineligible".

Russia has been hit by a number of sporting sanctions in wake of the country invading neighbouring Ukraine in March, with clubs blocked from competing in the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League.

That will remain the case next season, while Russia's audacious bid to host the European Championship finals in the next decade has also been blocked due to "bringing the bidding procedure or European football into disrepute".

European football governing body UEFA confirmed the latest measures on Monday and also announced that Russia's men's national team will not compete in the upcoming UEFA Nations League, meaning they will automatically finish bottom of Group 2 League B.

In the women's game, meanwhile, Russia's place in Group C at July's Euro 2022 finals will be taken by Portugal, the side they defeated in the play-offs.

Russia's women's side will also not partake in any of their remaining World Cup 2023 qualification matches. Group E will therefore continue as a group of five teams.

That is also the case for the men's Under-21s side, who will play no further part in qualifying for the next European Under-21 Championship.

Russia has withdrawn its appeal against a ban for its teams from FIFA competitions after World Cup qualifying continued without its senior men's national team.

Russian teams were suspended from FIFA and UEFA competitions following the country's invasion of Ukraine.

The FIFA sanction meant Valeri Karpin's Russia could not compete in their scheduled World Cup play-off semi-final against Poland.

The Russian Football Union (RFU) asked for the ban to be delayed, with that match set for late March, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rejected its request.

It meant Poland progressed to a final against Sweden, who had defeated the Czech Republic. Poland won to advance to Qatar 2022.

With that tie settled and Poland drawn into a World Cup group alongside Argentina, Mexico and Saudi Arabia, CAS announced on Tuesday the RFU had withdrawn its appeal last week.

Russia's challenges of various bans – including from UEFA – appear set to continue, however.

Russian teams will be welcomed back into world football immediately once the invasion of Ukraine ends, FIFA president Gianni Infantino has declared.

Infantino said FIFA "would be there the first day to play football again", as he spoke at the world governing body's congress in Qatar, this year's World Cup host country.

Infantino, who in 2019 was awarded an Order of Friendship medal by Russian president Vladimir Putin, said he was "devastated" by the news coming out of Ukraine.

But he said it was right that there was Russian representation at the congress, insisting the country's national federation had not been suspended by FIFA.

The country's national and club teams have been blocked from playing in FIFA and UEFA competitions, including the World Cup, but Infantino said it was important to maintain dialogue with federation officials.

Speaking in a news conference following the congress session, Infantino said: "I'm very sad of course for what is happening, and I'm as devastated as everyone."

He added: "We had to suspend Russia and Russian teams. It's not an easy decision of course, because it's about people who love football.

"We had to take the decisions, and now we have to look forward and hope the hostilities can stop, and we can bring a little bit of peace.

"The decision on Russia has been taken. The Russian Football Union has appealed the decision to CAS [the Court of Arbitration for Sport] so we are waiting for the result of the CAS deliberations.

"We will see what comes next. I sincerely hope the conflict can end, and we would be there the first day to play football again, because that's what I think is needed in this country.

"Russia as a football union, like any other federation, has not been suspended as such by FIFA, it has been participating in this congress as well."

Russia hosted the 2018 World Cup, and now Qatar, whose qualification as suitable hosts has frequently been called into question, will stage the tournament in November and December of this year.

Asked whether Qatar would be awarded a World Cup based on what FIFA considers are now increasingly robust methods of deciding who should be hosts, Infantino initially distanced himself from the decision that was made in 2010, when Sepp Blatter was the governing body's president.

"When it comes to the Qatar World Cup, the decision has been taken now 12 years ago, when I was far away from FIFA happenings in these days," said Infantino, who was UEFA secretary general at the time.

"We've now put in place a different bidding process, which I think is also pretty unique, and I said in the past bulletproof. I hope it will continue to be bulletproof. It's open, it's transparent, it's professional and you know why you vote for somebody when you vote for somebody.

"This is what has happened for the men's World Cup in 2026 and for the women's World Cup in 2023.

"We still see even in these decisions there are political votes rather than factual-based votes. That's probably part of the game.

"When it comes to Qatar, the decision has been taken. We'll organise the best World Cup ever here in Qatar, and in any case we shouldn't go back. We should look forward, and we should look at what has happened.

"All the changes that have happened in this country in terms of workers' rights and human rights, and so on, would not have happened or certainly not at the same speed without the projectors of the World Cup being there."

Speaking about Qatar, whose records have been criticised by human rights organisations, Infantino said the tournament would "show to the world there are people living here, and you can come here and feel safe and be safe".