The unanimous ruling by the Fifa Bureau, featuring the six regional football confederation presidents, was also that the Russian flag and anthem cannot be associated with the team.

“Fifa will continue its ongoing dialogue with the IOC, Uefa and other sport organisations to determine any additional measures or sanctions,” Fifa said in a statement, “including a potential exclusion from competitions, that shall be applied in the near future should the situation not be improving rapidly.”

The decision adopts the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling before the invasion of Ukraine, punishing Russia’s cover-up of the investigation into state-sponsored doping. It meant the Russians had to compete at the last two Olympics as the ROC team. Fifa had stalled implementing the ban on Russia competing under the country’s name until a potential qualification for the World Cup.

Fifa also said the RFU team can only play on neutral territory and without spectators.

It was not immediately clear if the decision to use the acronym for the Russian Football Union would satisfy Poland, which said on Saturday that it would refuse to play Russia in a World Cup playoff semi-final, which is scheduled for Moscow for March 24.

The winner of the playoff is expected to host Sweden or the Czech Republic on March 29 to decide who advances to the November 21-December 18 World Cup in Qatar.

03:20

As thousands flee, one Ukrainian woman heads back to fight against Russian invasion

As thousands flee, one Ukrainian woman heads back to fight against Russian invasion

Swedish federation president Karl-Erik Nilsson, the senior Uefa vice-president, told the website Fotbollskanalen that he was not satisfied with the Fifa decision with a “sharper stance” expected. The Czechs said the Fifa compromise did not change their decision not to play Russia.

Fifa said it had engaged with the three associations and would remain in “close contact to seek to find appropriate and acceptable solutions together.”

Separately, the English Football Association announced that its national teams would refuse to play Russia for the “foreseeable future.” Russia has qualified for the Women’s European Championship which is being hosted by England in June.

The English FA said the decision was taken “out of solidarity with the Ukraine and to wholeheartedly condemn the atrocities being committed by the Russian leadership”.

The Czech Republic joined Poland and Sweden on Sunday in saying it would refuse to play Russia.

“The Czech FA executive committee, staff members and players of the national team agreed it’s not possible to play against the Russian national team in the current situation, not even on the neutral venue,” the federation said in a statement. “We all want the war to end as soon as possible.”

Albania’s government also joined the wave of European opposition on Sunday to playing any sports games against Russia.

The move was notable as Albania is among the few national teams in men’s football with games scheduled soon against Russia in official competitions.

Albania is scheduled to host Russia in Tirana on June 2 in the group stage of the Uefa Nations League competition. The return game is on June 13 though Uefa ruled on Friday that Russian teams must find neutral venues for its home games.

“Albania will not take part in any sport games with the Russian Federation until the end of Ukraine’s occupation,” Foreign Minister Olta Xhacka said on Sunday.

Iceland and Israel have also been drawn in the same group in the second-tier section of the Nations League. Those federations have not stated their position about playing Russia.

The winner of Russia-Poland was set to host Sweden or the Czech Republic five days later for a place at the World Cup in Qatar. Both those potential opponents have also refused to play Russia.

Fifa will continue its ongoing dialogue with the IOC, Uefa and other sport organisations to determine any additional measures or sanctions,” Fifa said in a statement, “including a potential exclusion from competitions, that shall be applied in the near future should the situation not be improving rapidly.”

The RFU’s president is Aleksandr Dyukov, who is chief executive of a subsidiary of state-owned energy giant Gazprom and also sits on the Uefa executive committee.

In France, the football federation president Noël Le Graët told the Le Parisien newspaper on Sunday that he was leaning towards excluding Russia from the World Cup.

“The world of sport, and in particular football, cannot remain neutral,” said Le Graët, who sits on the ruling Fifa Council and has recently been a close ally of the governing body’s president, Gianni Infantino.

A strict reading of Fifa’s World Cup regulations would even make the Polish, Swedish and Czech federations liable to disciplinary action and having to pay fines and compensation if they would not play Russia.

In 1992, however, Fifa and Uefa removed Yugoslavia from its competitions following United Nations sanctions imposed when war broke out in the Balkans.

The Fifa Bureau, which is chaired by Infantino, includes Uefa President Aleksander Ceferin.

Uefa on Friday pulled the 2022 Champions League final from St Petersburg, moving it to Paris, and said Russian and Ukrainian teams in its competitions must play home games in neutral countries. Uefa allowed Spartak Moscow to continue playing in the second-tier Europa League’s round of 16.

The Russian president is a keen judoka and attended the sport at the 2012 London Olympics.

In Putin’s other favourite sport, ice hockey, Latvian club Dinamo Riga withdrew on Sunday from the Russian-owned and run Kontinental Hockey League citing the “military and humanitarian crisis.”