Figure skater Kamila Valieva leads list of banned Russian athletes – but tennis world No 1 Daniil Medvedev spared

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Lord Coe, World Athletics president, said: “The world is horrified by what Russia has done, aided and abetted by Belarus. World diplomatic leaders sought to avoid this invasion through means but to no avail given Russia’s unswerving intention to invade Ukraine.

“The sanctions that are being imposed on Russia and Belarus by countries and industries all over the world appear to be the only peaceful way to disrupt and disable Russia’s current intentions and restore peace.

“Anyone who knows me will understand that imposing sanctions on athletes because of the actions of their government goes against the grain. I have railed against the practice of politicians targeting athletes and sport to make political points when other sectors continue about their business.

“This is different as governments, business and other international organizations have imposed sanctions and measures against Russia across all sectors. Sport has to step up and join these efforts to end this war and restore peace. We cannot and should not sit this one out.”

World Athletics also confirmed it would consider further measures, including the suspension of the Belarus federation, at next week’s council meeting.

Haas F1 driver Mazepin to race under neutral flag

Formula One’s Russian driver Nikita Mazepin will be allowed to race this season under a neutral “FIA flag”, the FIA ​​announced on Tuesday.

Motorsport’s world governing body released a statement following an extraordinary meeting of its World Motor Sport Council in which it said that individual competitors and officials from Russia and Belarus would be allowed to race in competitions “subject to specific commitment and adherence to the FIA’s principles of peace and political neutrality, until further notice”.

Mazepin, who drives for Haas F1, may find himself out of a drive anyway after the American team’s decision to remove Uralkali branding from their car’s livery at testing in Barcelona last week.

Mazepin’s father Dmitry – an oligarch with close links to Russian president Vladimir Putin – is the owner and chairman of Russian fertiliser company Uralchem, which part-owns Uralkali.

Mazepin’s drive is conditional on the funding his father brings and Haas team principal Gunther Steiner has already admitted the 22 year-old may have to be replaced.

The FIA ​​did suspend all competitions on Russian or Belarusian soil until further notice, confirming the decision, taken last week, to ban September’s Russian Grand Prix in Sochi for reason of Force Majeure.

FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem said his organisation, stood “in solidarity with Leonid Kostyuchenko, the President of the Federation Automobile d’Ukraine (FAU) and the wider FIA family in the country”.

He added: “The measures taken today recognise the authority of the FAU in Ukraine and are also aligned with the recommendations recently made by the International Olympic Committee.

“We are in active discussions with our members as we continue to extend our compassion and support in their time of need. We sincerely hope for a peaceful resolution to their intolerable hardship.”

Mazepin’s compatriot, former Red Bull driver Danil Kvyat, attracted criticism earlier in the day when he referred to the conflict in Ukraine as a “situation”.

The Russian stated on Twitter: “I really hope for a peaceful solution to this situation in Ukraine, and that we can all live in peace. Hopefully, all parties can find a solution by sitting together and through respectful dialogue.

“It horrifies me to see two brotherhood nations in a conflict. I don’t want military actions and wars to influence the future of humanity, I want my daughter and all children to enjoy this beautiful world.”

Kvyat, who has a daughter with Kelly Piquet, currently Max Verstappen’s partner and the daughter of F1 legend Nelson Piquet, would have been pleased to see the FIA’s decision not to ban individual Russian or Belarusian drivers.

He added in his statement that “sport should remain outside politics and disallowing Russian athletes and teams from participating in world competitions is an unfair solution and goes against what sport teaches us in its principle- the unity and peace.

“Who else if not us sports people will help to glue nations together in the upcoming times?”

Rowing and sailing impose blanket bans

Other sports to wear blanket international bans included rowing and sailing. World Rowing said: “World Rowing strongly condemns the Russian military invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing violation of the Olympic Truce. Our organization stands in absolute solidarity with the Ukrainian people, including our friends at the Ukrainian rowing family, at this time of grave international crisis.”

But some sports stopped short, with tennis’s global governing bodies announcing Russians and Belarusians would be allowed to compete as neutrals after their national federations’ membership of the International Tennis Federation was suspended.

That lifted the immediate threat of the likes of Medvedev being banned from Wimbledon and other grand slams.

Ukrainian tennis star Elina Svitolina earlier confirmed she had dropped her threat to boycott her match on Tuesday night against Russia’s Anastasia Potapova at the Monterrey Open in anticipation of the neutral athlete policy.

A similar policy was adopted by cycling and swimming. The International Cycling Union (UCI) banned all Russian and Belarusian teams, including Gazprom-RusVelo, but allowed riders competing for other teams to do so as neutrals.

That included Ineos Grenadiers’ Pavel Sivakov, who has publicly denounced his native Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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