Russia should lose the right to host this year’s Champions League final following the invasion of Ukraine, Boris Johnson has said.
The prime minister said there is “no chance” of holding football tournaments in a country that “invades sovereign countries”.
This season’s showpiece clash is due to take place in St. Petersburg on May 28.
But addressing MPs on the UK’s response to the crisis, Johnson said that should not happen.
He said: “It’s absolutely vital in this critical moment that President Putin understands that what he is doing is going to be a disaster for Russia.
“And it is clear from the response of the world to what he has done already in Donbas that he is going to end up with a Russia that is poorer as a result of the sanctions that the world will implement.
“A Russia that is more isolated, a Russia that has pariah status – no chance of holding football tournaments in a Russia that invades sovereign countries.
“A Russia that is engaged in a bloody and debilitating conflict with a fellow Slav country. What an appalling result for President Putin.
“I hope that he steps back from the brink and does not conduct a full invasion.”
Johnson had earlier announced that the UK was imposing sanctions on Russian banks and rich individuals following the invasion of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
He said: “The House should be in no doubt that the deployment of these forces in sovereign Ukrainian territory amounts to a renewed invasion of that country.
“And by denying Ukraine’s legitimacy as a state and presenting its very existence as a mortal threat to Russia, Putin is establishing the pretext for a full-scale offensive.”
Johnson said the sanctions would apply to Rossiya Bank, IS Bank, General Bank, Promsvyazbank and the Black Sea Bank.
Meanwhile, the assets of Gennady Timchenko, Boris Rotenberg and Igor Rotenberg will be frozen as part of the reprisals.
“Any assets they hold in the UK will be frozen, the individuals concerned will be banned from travelling here and we will prohibit all UK individuals and entities from having any dealings with them,” Johnson said.
“This the first tranche, the first barrage of what we are prepared to do and we hold further sanctions at readiness to be deployed.”