Last Friday, June 12, was Russia Day — the anniversary of Moscow’s 1990 Declaration of State Sovereignty. Across the country, there were parades, fireworks, and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s annual address. And across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, forty-eight nations are competing in the FIFA World Cup. Russia is not among them.

On February 28, 2022, FIFA and UEFA jointly declared that all Russian teams would be suspended from official competition. This week, UEFA went further: Russian clubs were erased entirely from the 2026–27 European tournament draws. No asterisk. No placeholder. Just a blank space where Russia used to be.