Latvia’s ban on hockey gamers who took half within the Video games of the Future has nothing to do with sport, a Russian MP and former Olympian says
The Latvian Ice Hockey Federation (LHF) has imposed a ban on gamers who’re participating within the Video games of the Future match, which is being held within the Russian metropolis of Kazan.
The transfer has been criticized by Russian MP and former Winter Olympic champion, Svetlana Zhurova, who mentioned the EU nation’s determination to droop the licenses of gamers was purely political.
”Pursuant to data that some Latvian hockey gamers are taking part within the Video games of the Future in Russia, LHF has suspended the licenses of those hockey gamers,” the federation mentioned in an announcement on Thursday.
Greater than 2,000 athletes from around the globe are participating in 21 disciplines on the match, which opened in Kazan on Wednesday.
Zhurova, who received a gold medal for pace skating on the Winter Olympics in 2006, informed RT that the choice of the Latvian federation had nothing to do with sport.
”Sadly, it is a clear-cut political stance, and the query is ‘What has sports activities bought to do with it?’ Let’s additionally keep in mind the latest legislation handed in Latvia to ban their very own athletes from competing with ours… Apparently, that is what freedom and democracy appear to be by Latvian requirements,” she mentioned.
The State Duma deputy mentioned the Latvian gamers who’ve traveled to Kazan to participate within the match needs to be praised for his or her braveness.
“In the event you assume again to the 1980 Olympics, regardless of the ban in place on the time, many athletes got here anyway, and one in every of them was Sebastian Coe, who’s now the pinnacle of World Athletics,” Zhurova added.
”Did one thing go mistaken in his life after that? Did he get banned by anybody?”
She was referring to the Summer time Olympics in Moscow, which was boycotted by the US and 65 different international locations. Round 80 international locations nonetheless despatched their athletes to compete within the Soviet capital.
One other Russian sports activities star, retired ice hockey participant Alexander Kozhevnikov, urged that the Latvian athletes ought to keep in Russia after the competitors, which continues till March 3.
“How can one even touch upon the actions of this hostile state? In fact, Latvian athletes needs to be praised for coming to the Video games of the Future, however there will certainly be penalties for them. I feel that they need to keep in our nation,” the two-time Olympic hockey champion informed RT.
The Video games of the Future is the first-ever worldwide ‘phygital’ (bodily and digital) occasion, which mixes typical and digital sports activities.
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