UEFA has not ruled out taking further action against Belarus after the country deployed troops with Russian forces near Ukraine on Monday.

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko yesterday confirmed he had ordered troops to deploy with Russian forces, claiming there was a planned attack on his country from Ukraine.

He said: 'Strikes on the territory of Belarus are not just being discussed in Ukraine today, but are also being planned. Their owners are pushing them to start a war against Belarus to drag us there.' However, no evidence was provided for Lukashenko's claims.

Belarus is a key ally of Russia and relies financially and politically on its support.

Russian forces also used Lukashenko's country as a staging post for their invasion of Ukraine back in February, sending troops and equipment into northern Ukraine from bases in Belarus, with Belarus bordering Ukraine to the north-west.

UEFA has confirmed it has been 'constantly monitoring the situation' in Belarus and didn't rule out taking 'further decisions' against the state.

Russia has already been banned from taking part at Euro 2024, which is being hosted by Germany, due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Russia were also banned from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar after invading Ukraine earlier this year.

They had qualified for the World Cup play-offs and were due to face Poland in March but FIFA suspended Russian national teams from all competitions.

The Russian Football Union appealed against the bans from FIFA and UEFA, but the Court of Abritraiton of Sport rejected the appeal.

However, Belaurs have not faced similar sanctions and were part of the Euro 2024 qulification draw that took place on Sunday.

They were drawn with Switzerlad, Israel, Romania, Kosovo and Andorra in Group I.

Belarus have continued to compete but have played their games behind closed doors and not in their home country.

Back in June, their UEFA Nations League home games took place in Serbia, while during the most recent international break they played Kazahkstan and Slovakia.

Germany's interior minister has previously called for Belarus to be expelled from the tournament.

And in a statement on the matter, UEFA told The Athletic:  'The UEFA Executive Committee decided in March to prevent matches from being played on the territory of Belarus until further notice.

'Since then, UEFA has constantly been monitoring the situation and further decisions may be taken as necessary.'

Belarus have never qualified for a major tournament and are currently ranked 97th in the FIFA World Rankings.

The most famous footballer to come from the eastern European state is former Arsenal, Barcelona and Birmingham midfielder Alexander Hleb.

During the qulaifying campaign for the Qatar World Cup, they finished bottom of a group containing Belgium, Wales, Czech Republic and Estonia, winning one game and losing seven.