Rugby Football Union contact FIFA about Russian football team’s proposed ‘RFU’ name-change

England’s Rugby Football Union have moved to distance themselves from Russia after the disgraced country’s football team were told to change the name under which they play.

Russia were kicked out of qualifying for the 2022 football World Cup by FIFA on Monday, who had told them they must play under the name ‘Football Union of Russia’ or ‘RFU’ as part of sanctions following Vladimir Putin’s escalation of war. English rugby’s governing body were unhappy with such a proposal.

Twickenham bosses wrote to FIFA to ensure Russia would be known as ‘RUF’ and not ‘RFU’, in order to avoid confusion.

Rugby has yet to impose any major sanctions on Russia other than postponing their meeting with Six Nations hopefuls Georgia. World Rugby have received a letter from the Ukraine Rugby Federation urging them to ban Russian teams from competing in the sport.

An RFU spokeswoman said: ‘England Rugby strongly condemn the aggressive invasion of Ukraine. We stand in solidarity with them.’ 

The global outcry as a result of Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine has been felt in various spheres. 

Sporting sanctions of Russian national and domesic sports teams have been applied along with other punishments, such as a removing the Champions League final from St Petersburg. 

It is anticipated that Russia could be kicked out of the football World Cup, although as it stands, FIFA are yet to expel them, insisting they can play at neutral venues without the flag or national anthem, as well as the team name change. 

As part of their sanctions, FIFA has told Russia to change their team name to R

The Sochi Grand Prix has been axed from the Formula One calendar and the sporting world continues to stand-up following hundreds of deaths in Ukraine resulting from Russia’s invasion of the sovereign state. 

Spartak Moscow are set to be kicked out of the Europa League having qualified for the last 16.  

West Ham players warmed up in supportive shirts for Ukrainian star Andriy Yarmolenko after he was granted compassionate leave while their opponents Wolves wore ‘No To War’ shirts in their match on Sunday.

Liverpool and Chelsea players stood in solidarity with Ukraine moments before their Carabao Cup final kicked off at Wembley, which was just hours after Blues owner Roman Abramovich relinquished control of the club.

On Saturday, players from Manchester United and Watford held a banner of the peace symbol with the word written in numerous languages including Russian and Ukrainian. 

International footballers trapped in the Ukraine capital Kyiv made it out of the country in a desperate dash for the border with their families, after the head of UEFA Aleksander Ceferin personally intervened.

The players, including members of Dynamo Kyiv and Shakhtar Donetsk, had taken refuge in a hotel in the capital city after Russia attacked the eastern European country.

FIFA are under pressure to remove Russia from the Qatar World Cup this year 

But as the days ticked by and the situation in Ukraine grew more desperate, it became clear they had to leave but they could not get out and were forced hide in the basement bunker of the luxury accommodation. 

The footballers are among more than 500,000 refugees, mainly women and children, who are fleeing Ukraine for the West.

And in terms of Olympic sport, the IOC announced that federations will be encouraged to stop athletes or officials from Russia or Belarus from competing. 

There has been a unity in sport backing Ukraine after the Russian invasion 

Their statement on Monday read: ‘The current war in Ukraine puts the Olympic Movement in a dilemma. While athletes from Russia and Belarus would be able to continue to participate in sports events, many athletes from Ukraine are prevented from doing so because of the attack on their country.

‘This is a dilemma which cannot be solved. The IOC EB has therefore today carefully considered the situation and, with a heavy heart, issued the following resolution.

‘In order to protect the integrity of global sports competitions and for the safety of all the participants, the IOC EB recommends that International Sports Federations and sports event organisers not invite or allow the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials in international competitions.’