The great refusal of the Italian basketball team: “We will not play against Russia”. Fip and Coni aligned after the invasion of Ukraine

The Italian national basketball team will not take the field against Russia in the match scheduled for July 1st and valid for the qualification to World 2023. The choice matured in an aligned way on the part of Federbasket e Cones after Fiba had decided to postpone the decision regarding a possible one exclusion of the Russian representative in May. Already in recent days the federal president Gianni Petrucci he had attacked the decision of the international board, hinting that the Italian position would have been the one then matured with the endorsement of Coni.

“I’m not. There will In my opinion, it is in my opinion to keep the evaluation of the possible exclusion of Russia from the FIBA ​​competitions pending pilatesca. The tragedy in Ukraine is still in progress and we hope it will be concluded as soon as possible but this will not cancel what has been happening for more than a month now “, said Petrucci regarding the non-decision on the presence of teams, referees e officers field of Russia.

“Russia has broken the Olympic truce and the That is strongly recommended to all world federations not to invite Russian and Belarusian athletes to international sports competitions. Other International federationsabove all Fifa – Petrucci recalls – have long since taken a well-defined position, consequently adopting measures of which the That confirmed the legitimacy “. Giovanni Malagò he defined himself as “100% in agreement” with the number one of the Fip. “We are very sorry we do not understand the choice of the international federation to wait for May, ”said Malagò.

The Italbasket is included in the same grouping of Russia (group H) for qualification for the 2023 World Cup and the challenge is scheduled for 1 July a Pesaro. “The IOC was clear, he cannot force international federations, but he told us what he thinks is right to do – continued Malagò – Only basketball and biathlon they took time and it’s not good. Italy will not play and as Petrucci said as well Netherlands e Iceland they will not play with Russia, CONI is with Petrucci ”. The president of the FIP stressed that “to exclude Russia from sports community international is not a technical decision but a policy sport “and the vulnus” has already occurred and I don’t understand which ones scenarios can change, according to Fiba, between now and May “.