The Ukrainian national team will consider the possibility of boycotting the European Judo Championships due to the admission of Russian athletes

Head coach Ukrainian national judo team Vitaly Dubrova reported that the national federation would consider a boycott European Championship 2023 because of admission of 17 Russian athletes to the continental championship, which will be held in Montpellier, France.

“On Friday we will meet with the leadership of the federation, we will make a decision regarding the trip or not. But we already have tickets, a hotel booked, and preparations for the European Championship continue. They hoped that the Russians would not be allowed in after all. Moreover, this is France. Since the beginning of the war, the French did not allow them into their country. Now we see that they probably got visas, maybe some other situation. We will make the final decision on Friday.”

“We must look from the other side that the world federation is quite pro-Russian. And the European federation is a satellite of the world one, they completely duplicate their decisions. There must have been some kind of check, but in our sport these checks are quite formal. 99% of all athletes that Russians enter are allowed to compete.”

“After the final decision, we will develop the next action plan. From Sunday we have a final training camp planned in Koncha-Zaspa before the European Championships. Next the team goes to Austria, then to Japan. But we will look at making a final decision on participation.”

Let us remind you that in May the Ukrainian national team boycotted the 2023 World Judo Championship. In April, the International Judo Federation (IJF) allowed athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete under a neutral flag in international competitions under its auspices.