The head of the ROC accused the Netherlands of political refusal gymnast n
Russian Sports Minister and head of the Russian Olympic Committee Mikhail Degtyarev said in his Telegram channel that the politically motivated refusal of visas to Russian gymnasts testifies to the inadmissibility of trust in EU countries in the conduct of international competitions.
The Minister of sports of Russia and the head of the Olympic Committee of the country Mikhail Degtyarev sharply reacted to the decision of the Netherlands to refuse visas to Russian gymnasts. In his opinion, this step is political in nature and clearly demonstrates that EU countries cannot be trusted to organize international tournaments. Degtyarev published the statement in his Telegram channel.
Olympic champions Angelina Melnikova and Victoria Listunova, as well as Anna Kalmykova, did not receive visas. The Gymnastics World Championships will be held from 17 to 25 October in Rotterdam.
Degtyarev stressed that the politically motivated refusal of visas to Russian gymnasts by the Netherlands once again confirms that there is no place for big sport in Europe. He noted that the European side ignored the decisions of international organizations — the IOC and World Gymnastics — and denied the Russians visas, and tomorrow, according to him, may not let someone else.
Russia has consistently advocated equal access of all athletes to competitions under its own flag and without any discrimination. He also said EU countries should not be trusted with international competition.
Meanwhile, part of the Russian team has already reached the Netherlands: gymnasts Daniel Marinov, Arseny Dukhno, Sergey Naidin and Alyona Glotova received Schengen visas and arrived at the place. Five more athletes from the main team – Lyudmila Roshchina, Milana Kayumova, Ilya Zaika, Savely Sedin and Muhammadjon Yakubov – are still waiting for decisions on their visa applications.
The World Cup in Rotterdam will be the first stage of the team selection for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. According to the results, the three strongest men’s and three strongest women’s teams will receive Olympic quotas.
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