“Most of these guys haven’t really competed in Russian tournaments.” Sikharulidze – on the change of sports citizenship of figure skaters

Acting head of the Russian Figure Skating Federation (FFKKR) Anton Sikharulidze and CEO Alexander Kogan spoke about the situation with the change of sports citizenship among Russian figure skaters.

Russian athletes have been suspended from participating in competitions under the auspices of the International Skating Union (ISU) due to the situation in Ukraine.

— Have there been many requests for change of sporting citizenship this year?

Sikharulidze: There are few applications, but the important thing is not that some want to play for other federations. In most (of these cases), the guys have the passports of the countries they want to go to and live there. Most of these guys haven’t really competed in Russian tournaments. There have been and will be such transitions. It’s just that the situation was different before. It is important to us that the leaders stay and they have no intention of leaving. That’s life. We have Annabelle Morozov, but she was born in the United States, lives in the United States and has citizenship of this country. Yes, I skated in Russia for a while. But she’s American. How can we not let her go?

Kogan: You don’t ask about those who decided to come back, but it happens every year. Those who have a residence permit, citizenship, let them ride and compete there. Many of them say that such a decision (regarding the transition) was a mistake, because the approach to sports in other countries is different. We care and cherish the guys, but it’s different there.

— Maria Talalaikina is a striking example of an athlete who returned to Russia. Who else can you name?

Kogan: You don’t know these names. You know Talalaikina because she participated in the Russian Championship,” reports a correspondent, reporting the words of the FFKKR leaders.

More sports news in our telegram channel .