At least 30 sports have now barred or suspended Russian athletes from competition with the eve-of-Paralympics ban their biggest indignity yet.
Russia's total eclipse in global sport continues to gather speed at an extraordinary rate with its ban from the Paralympic Games marking the ultimate indignity for Vladimir Putin's sporting powerhouse.
Russian athletes are now barred or suspended at international level from at least 30 sports, and they are losing the right to host or compete in sports events by the day following the invasion of Ukraine, with Formula One the latest to sever all ties on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the English Premier League has applauded Roman Abramovich's decision to put Chelsea up for sale while a British government minister boomed: "We have tolerated the investment of Russian kleptocrats for far too long."
There was an inevitable backlash too from angry Russian sports officials as they were being pushed deeper into the sporting wilderness.
When the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) did its volte face on the eve of the Winter Paralympics in Beijing on Thursday, banning athletes from Russia and its ally Belarus in the face of the prospect of a mass boycott of the event by other nations, Russian officials responded by calling the decision "monstrous".
The Russian news agency TASS later reported that officials were drafting a lawsuit with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the IPC's decision.
The Russian Football Union (RFU) is also appealing to CAS against the decision of FIFA and UEFA to ban their clubs and the national team from international soccer.
"The RFU will demand the restoration of all men's and women's national teams of Russia in all types of football in the tournaments in which they took part (including in the qualifying round of the World Cup in Qatar), as well as compensation for damage," a statement said.
In London, the Premier League chief Richard Masters said Russian billionaire Abramovich had made the right decision to sell European champions Chelsea because the 55-year-old's ownership had become "unsustainable".
Amid the calls for Abramovich to be hit by sanctions, the Russian owner had put Chelsea on the market, saying a sale was in the club's best interests.
British sports and culture minister Nadine Dorries responded in parliament on Thursday with the observation: "In football ... we have tolerated the investment of Russian kleptocrats for far too long."
She added that the decision by Abramovich was a "turning point" and that the government would bring forward new tests on potential club owners.
Masters also revealed that the Premier League's broadcasting deal with Russian television was now "under review".
President Vladimir Putin has in the past enjoyed being the centre of attention at the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi but Formula One has ensured that won't happen again.
"Formula One can confirm it has terminated its contract with the Russian Grand Prix promoter, meaning Russia will not have a race in the future," a statement on Thursday read.
As the crisis in Ukraine grew, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said the great Olympic pole vaulter Sergey Bubka would co-ordinate humanitarian assistance for his home country, while Germany's football league DFL also pledged one million Euros for humanitarian aid in Ukraine.
With agencies
