Russia's World Cup Ban Appeal Rejected By Court of Arbitration for Sport

The Court of Arbitration for Sport denied a motion by Russia seeking an expedited ruling to halt FIFA's ban on its involvement in qualifiers for the men's 2022 World Cup.

Graham Dunbar of the Associated Press reported Friday the CAS is still set to hear a full appeal from the Russian Football Union, which is disputing the ban handed down after the country's military invasion of Ukraine. A final ruling could come "within weeks."

If Russia's appeal is successful, a UEFA qualifying tournament that also features Poland, Sweden and the Czech Republic may be replayed, per Dunbar. For now, Poland has been given a bye to the March 29 final, with the other two teams set to face off Thursday.

The RFU announced March 3 it would file a lawsuit against FIFA and UEFA seeking to restore both its men's and women's teams to full participation:

"The RFU will demand the restoration of all men's and women's national teams of Russia in all types of football in the tournaments in which they took part (including in the qualifying round of the World Cup in Qatar), as well as compensation for damage."

"In order to ensure the possibility of the participation of Russian teams in the next scheduled matches, the RFU will insist on an expedited procedure for considering the case."

Russia's women's team was scheduled to take part in 2023 World Cup qualifying in April and previously qualified for the UEFA Women's Euro 2022, which kicks off in July.

A joint statement by FIFA and UEFA announcing the ban said both of Russia's national teams would be disqualified from competition "until further notice."

All Russian teams were also banned from European club competitions.

Russia's military attack on Ukraine is nearing the one-month mark after beginning on Feb. 24.

CNN's Natasha Bertrand, Katie Bo Lillis and Jeremy Herb reported Friday the invasion, which has drawn worldwide condemnation and numerous sanctions, has lasted longer than originally expected by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"We can see [Putin] miscalculated the resilience and the resistance of the Ukrainians," a NATO military official told CNN. "That is a fact. He did not see that. And that is a big surprise for him. And therefore he has had to slow down."

The invasion has led to several bans on athletes from Russia and its ally Belarus, including expulsion from the recently completed Winter Paralympic Games in China.