Players from the Spanish and Ukrainian national teams observe a minute of silence in protest against Russia’s attack on their neighbor. /
The Russian team will not continue to participate in the Windows for the 2023 World Cup and its presence in the Eurobasket in September remains on the wing
Follow the cascade of measures taken by the world of sport against Russia because of the invasion of Ukraine. FIBA has announced this Tuesday that Russian teams and referees will not be able to compete in its tournaments until further notice. This means that as long as the aggression against its neighboring country continues, the Russian team will not continue to participate in the qualifying windows for the 2023 World Cup, which will be jointly organized by the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.
FIBA had already postponed the match that the team coached by the Serbian Zoran Lukić had to play last Sunday against the Netherlands, as well as the match that was to measure Belarus, Putin’s ally country in his offensive, with the United Kingdom this Monday.
On the wing is the participation of Russia in the men’s Eurobasket that will be played between September 1 and 18 in Germany, the Czech Republic, Georgia and Italy. During the draw held on April 29, 2021, Russia is drawn into Group A, which also includes Spain, Turkey, Georgia, Belgium and Bulgaria.
The measure adopted by FIBA, in line with the call made on Monday by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to close the doors of all kinds of competitions to Russian teams and athletes, will not affect the current edition of the Champions of basketball, since the only Russian representative in the tournament, Nizhny Novgorod, was knocked out in the group stage.
Russian basketball teams were also suspended from European competitions on Monday. The Euroleague decided that CSKA Moscow, Zenit Saint Petersburg and Unics Kazan, the three representatives in the top continental competition, and Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar, which is participating in the Eurocup, will not play any more matches as a result of the Russian invasion in Ukraine and, “in the event that the situation does not evolve favourably, all regular season games against Russian teams will be canceled to configure the league table”.
FIBA, which “categorically condemns the violence and urgently wants peace to prevail”, will announce future decisions at the Executive Committee meeting that will take place on March 25 and also in the coming days by the bodies of the European zone of FIBA.
Players of the Russian national team celebrate a goal during the qualifying phase for the World Cup in Qatar. /
Adidas breaks with the Russian Football Federation
Adidas has broken its sponsorship agreement with the Russian Football Federation due to the invasion of Ukraine. “Adidas suspends its sponsorship with the Russian Football Federation with immediate effect,” the sportswear manufacturer explained.
A day earlier, UEFA closed the sponsorship contract with the gas giant Gazprom that reached the Champions League, the international competitions organized by the highest instance of European football, as well as Euro 2024. Meanwhile, FIFA excluded Russia of the repechage for the World Cup in Qatar.
Similarly, bicycle manufacturer LOOK will no longer support the Russian team Gazprom-RusVelo, a member of the UCI Pro Team, the second division of men’s road cycling.
