“The French Basketball Federation should be ashamed!” Svishchev – on the removal of the legionnaire “Zenith” from the national team

Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture and Sports Dmitry Svishchev criticized the French Basketball Federation (FFBB) for the decision to withdraw the leader from Saint Petersburg “Zenith” Tom Ertel national team matches.

Earlier, FFBB chief Jean-Pierre Suta in a conversation with L’Equipe said that the player signed a document banning him from playing in Russia, but violated his obligations.

– We periodically hear that some countries, under the pressure of certain political forces, vent their anger on their own citizens – athletes who have nothing to do with the situation in the world. The French should be happy: their basketball player plays and trains with the strongest athletes in Europe! It’s expensive. Moreover, he receives a good salary, fees, bonuses – you need to be happy for him, and not envy him and scare him with horror stories. Any athlete from any country, of course, dreams of participating in matches for his national team. But nothing can be achieved by blackmail and intimidation. Everyone who wanted to leave has already left. Every athlete has the right to express their point of view. The French Basketball Federation should be ashamed.

Take the Tennis Federation. They clearly said that the athletes would play: yes, under a neutral flag, but still. Also, one of the oldest tournaments, Wimbledon, was fined because our guys weren’t allowed to compete. The Federation protects the interests of its athletes – and they must learn. And Belarusians, Ukrainians and ours – everyone plays, it’s okay. Strong leaders can advocate for athletes. You just have to not be afraid. This is why international sports federations are created. And there, the IOC began to serve certain political movements and military blocs! Svishchev told .