In a poll conducted by Seton Hall Sports Poll from March 11 to 14 across the United States, 61 per cent of the general population supported sports sanctions recommended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), with only 17 per cent against.

The IOC called for athletes from Belarus and Russia to be excluded from international competition for the foreseeable future, following the nations' involvement in the invasion of Ukraine, which started on February 24.

This study featured the opinions of 1,528 adults.

UEFA's decision to strip the city of St. Petersburg as the host of the 2022 Champions League final was supported by a 69 to 10 per cent margin, while the ban on Russia for the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup was supported by 64 per cent of the population, with 15 per cent against the measure.

The public seem to be more in favour of a ban on Russian men's world number two tennis player Daniil Medvedev competing at Grand Slams too by a 43 to 30 per cent margin.

Medvedev was the world number one for three weeks at the start of 2022 and was the winner of the 2021 US Open.

There was also a support for a ban by the International Skating Union on Russian figure skaters such as Olympic champion Anna Shcherbakova and 15-year-old Kamila Valieva, who tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine.

This was supported by a 54 per cent to 20 per cent margin.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine led to condemnation from the sporting community with the IOC accusing the nation of breaking the Olympic Truce, a peace period that covers the duration of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The United States and Russia have long been regarded as adversaries in geopolitics, with tensions between the nations worsening under the most-recent tenure of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Military intervention during the Russian Civil War against the Bolsheviks in 1918 started off a century-long difficult relationship between the US and the Soviet Union, which later dissolved and became Russia again in 1991.

The Soviet Union, under the Bolsheviks, was formed in 1922 but the Americans did not recognise the Government until diplomatic relations were formed in 1933.

Both nations were on the same side and leaders of the Allies during the Second World War, before the fallout of the conflict planted the seeds for the Cold War, which lasted until the dissolution of the Soviet Union.