Russia’s Plushenko banned from ice competitions, to appeal against ISU move

Plushenko did not appeal in the allotted 21 days, and the ISU said on Monday its decision was final. The Russian skater is now ineligible for "any ISU activity," including the Olympics, world championships and Grand Prix series, it said.

Plushenko skated in two exhibitions the week after he withdrew from the worlds in March, which runs counter to ISU's eligibility rules.

Meanwhile, his wife and manager, Yana Rudkovskaya, has denied information about the ban on his participation in the Sochi Olympics.

"The International Skating Union (ISU)'s rules only stipulate the disqualification due to doping problems," she said, adding that this was not the case with Plushenko.

According to Rudkovskaya, her husband will ask the ISU to restore his amateur status in the nearest future. "The Russian Figure Skating Federation is ready to support Yevgeni's appeal. I think everything will be all right. He will skip this season, we shall see what will be further," she said and added that Plushenko "is in a perfect shape."