A question I have asked the IOC and WADA on Twitter -
Croatia has denied visas to nine members of the Russian national gymnastics delegation. Croatia says the applications were refused because insufficient information was provided about the purpose of travel for those nine individuals. Russia disputes this explanation, arguing that more than 60 other gymnasts, coaches and officials received visas after submitting applications containing the same information. Significantly, three of the gymnasts denied visas — Angelina Melnikova, Anna Kalmykova and Viktoria Listunova — could reasonably have been expected to contend for medals in Zagreb. This has inevitably led to allegations that the visa refusals were intended to weaken Russia’s team. At full strength, Russia’s women’s team would have been among the strongest — and quite possibly the strongest — competing at these European Championships. However, there is currently no evidence establishing that the refusals were deliberately designed to influence the sporting outcome. The impor...


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