Russia Bidding to Host Euro 2028, 2032 Despite UEFA Suspension amid Ukraine Invasion

The Russian Football Union announced Wednesday it will bid to host either the 2028 or 2032 Euro tournaments despite its national teams' indefinite UEFA and FIFA bans following the country's military invasion of Ukraine.

Rob Harris of the Associated Press reported Russia joins the British Isles and Turkey in bidding for 2028 and will challenge Italy for 2032. RFU president Alexander Dyukov explained the decision on the country's Match TV.

"We must take the opportunity to host the Euro," Dyukov said. "It will be at the World Cup stadiums and we have developed infrastructure."

He added: "We are sending the declaration today. We assume that Russia is already prepared to to host large-scale competitions. We have the experience."

FIFA and UEFA issued a joint statement to announce the ban Russian teams from their competitions Feb. 28. The suspension, which was imposed "until further notice," covered the men's and women's national teams along with domestic squads taking part in European club competitions.

"Football is fully united here and in full solidarity with all the people affected in Ukraine," the governing bodies said. "Both presidents hope that the situation in Ukraine will improve significantly and rapidly so that football can again be a vector for unity and peace amongst people."

Russia appealed the ruling to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and sought an expedited ruling since its men's national team was scheduled to take part in a 2022 World Cup qualifying tournament beginning Thursday.

CAS denied the request to make a ruling before the qualifiers, which also feature Poland, Sweden and the Czech Republic, but agreed to hear a full appeal, per Graham Dunbar of the AP. If it rules in Russia's favor, the qualifying event may have to be replayed in the future.

UEFA will provide prospective bidders with requirements to host the 2028 and 2032 tournaments next week and confirm the final candidates in April, per Harris.

"We reserve the right to enter a bid," Dyukov said. "This option doesn't cost anything. And you can't refuse it, if it isn't expensive."

The host countries for the two events won't be announced until September 2023. Germany was already selected to host Euro 2024.

Russia hosted the World Cup for the first time in 2018 and has never hosted a Euro tournament.