KAZAN, July 14. /TASS/. The Russian women’s national team hammered Iran 4-0 in a friendly match at Kazan’s Central Stadium on Friday, as a crowd of 5,840 spectators cheered the teams on.

Alsu Abdullina (28th minute), Anna Belomytseva (38th minute, penalty kick), Valeria Bizenkova (42th minute) and Natalia Mashina (83th minute) scored for Russia.

It was the first ever meeting between the Russian and Iranian women’s football teams. They are scheduled to square off against each other again on July 18. That match will be played without spectators in Novogorsk outside Moscow.

The press service of the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) announced on February 28, 2022 that the Russian national team and all professional clubs representing the country were barred from taking part in FIFA tournaments.

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) later made the same decision with regard to the Russian national football team’s participation in UEFA tournaments.

Both FIFA and UEFA linked their decision to Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine.