Teams from Belarus and Ukraine no longer to be drawn together following Russian invasion

Teams from Belarus and Ukraine will not be drawn together in future, UEFA has announced.

European football’s governing body has already banned Russian sides from appearing in its competitions following the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

The role of Belarus in facilitating this invasion also prompted sanctions for Belarusian teams.

UEFA had already decided no matches would be played in Belarus and supporters of Belarusian teams would be banned from attending nominal home games.

And in a further move announced on Friday, UEFA said it would prevent sides from Belarus and Ukraine from meeting in future competitions.

“The UEFA Executive Committee will remain on standby to convene further meetings to reassess the legal and factual situation as it evolves and adopt further decisions as necessary,” a statement read.

Meanwhile, UEFA’s rules relating to coronavirus for the upcoming Women’s Euro 2022 were approved.

Any players who contract COVID-19 or “who have been anyway put in isolation” will be classed as “cases of serious illness”, meaning they can be replaced in their nation’s squad ahead of the first match of the tournament.