Visa Delays Leave Russia’s European Championship Plans in Doubt

 Visa Delays Leave Russia’s European Championship Plans in Doubt

Russia will probably be unable to field full-strength teams at next week’s European Gymnastics Championships, according to the Russian Gymnastics Federation (RGF).

Croatia has still not issued visas to most of Russia’s leading gymnasts, coaches and medical staff due to attend the championships. The applications were submitted several weeks ago; Angelina Melnikova even delivered hers in person.

The team is booked to travel tomorrow and faces a seven-hour journey, including a connecting flight. With so little time remaining, Russia is unlikely to be able to send its strongest teams to Zagreb. As the European Championships are an important qualifying event, this could seriously disrupt the federation’s plans. The RGF regards the delay as a deliberate obstruction.

Without several of its leading gymnasts, Russia’s chances of finishing first in the team competition—and thereby qualifying a full team for the World Championships—will be significantly reduced. This represents an important step on the road towards Olympic qualification.

Croatia is strongly opposed to Russia’s military action against Ukraine. International travel is generally regarded as a privilege rather than a right, and Croatia is entitled to withhold or delay visas. In these circumstances, there may be little Russia can do except send the strongest available gymnasts and hope for a good result.

Those still awaiting visas are:

1. Angelina Melnikova

2. Viktoria Listunova

3. Anna Kalmykova

4. Leyla Vasilyeva

5. Alexey Usachev

6. Sergey Naidin

7. Evgeny Kisel

8. Yuliy Kuksenkov (coach)

9. Sergey Gulevsky (doctor)

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is unlawful, and allegations of war crimes arising from the conflict are extremely serious. It is inevitable that other countries will seek ways to oppose Russia and respond to its actions.

Nevertheless, this situation is very hard on the individual gymnasts, who have trained rigorously for one of the year’s most important competitions. Whatever the wider political justification, it seems unfair for them to bear the consequences personally.