Russian clubs banned from signing players from Turkey after war plane shot down by Turkish forces

Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko has confirmed that all Russian clubs have been told they cannot sign Turkish players this winter

The Russian Su-24 jet was downed by Turkish forces (EPA)

Russian football clubs will be banned from signing Turkish players during the winter transfer window after the sports ministry issued the instructions in response to a Russian war plane being shot down by Turkey last week.

Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko confirmed that the orders have been communicated with clubs in the country as part of punitive economic measures being imposed on Turkey.

“I think that, if anyone wants [to sign a Turkish player] during the upcoming transfer window in the winter break, there will not be such a possibility,” Mutko told the R-Sport news agency.

“We don’t need to jump too far ahead but [the clubs] have already got the message.”

Mutko, who is also president of the Russian Football Union (RFU), also confirmed that football clubs had been directly informed not to sign Turkish players, adding: “Of course, absolutely.”

Turkish-Russian relations have been put under strain since a Russian war plane was shot down last Tuesday by Turkish forces near the border with Syria. One of the two Russian pilots died, while a Russian marine attempting to rescue the crew was also killed.

Despite the measures being imposed on Tirkey, any Turkish players currently playing in the Russian Premier League – such as Rubin Kazan’s Gokdeniz Karadeniz – will be allowed to honour their contracts, as will construction companies working on building stadiums for the 2018 World Cup.

“Everyone who has an existing contract will carry on working,” Mutko said. “They won’t be here in the future but at the moment they have contracts and these will not be looked into.”