Deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, Olympic champion in speed skating Svetlana Jourova on the air of the program “There is a topic” on , she said that the Polish coach Pavel Abratkevich, who worked with the Russian national team, could persuade the Russian speed skating champion Vladimir Semirunny to join the Polish national team.
Semirunniy told on Monday that he had informed the Russian Skating Union of his desire to compete for the Polish national team. The skater is already in Poland. The 20-year-old athlete started cycling training before the season and working out in the gym.
— Why Poland? How developed is this species there? What do you think of the law on compensation for the federation by athletes?
“It will be extremely difficult to present Poland with something to pay for. For an athlete, there are no legislative standards yet. And it will be difficult to organize this legally. Although there is experience of hockey federations, but within the country. And the athlete is young, but he has already spent state money, but it will be difficult to get compensation from his parents.
I am also surprised by Poland’s double standards, they don’t like us there, they even hate us, they demolish monuments, but let the athletes come. Isn’t it safe for a man to go there?!
Pavel Abratkevich, a Polish but pro-Russian coach, worked with our team for a long time. Now he had to leave. I admit that Vladimir went to train with him. In Poland, they surely gave the task of forming a team, and Vladimir finds his place there. The guy is promising, he could be seduced. All this could have happened because of the coach. But that’s my opinion.
Who will finance it? Our federation will not offer him an easy transition. 24 months of quarantine. The International Skating Union (ISU) has its rights, it can get away with one year. And we haven’t participated in competitions for over a year. So the guy can play for Poland from this year. At the same time, the neutral status of our athletes will be discussed at the ISU Executive Committee in October.
Legal issues with the athlete have not been fully resolved. He has not yet written any statement. I don’t know yet how this will all happen. He is now a member of the Russian national team. He did not write a waiver of his bets, since he was traveling to another country. I’m surprised he went to Poland. The Polish federation itself has a good attitude towards Russians, but in the country itself, in general, this is not the case,” Zhurova said on .
The ISU had previously maintained the suspension of Russian athletes from tournaments under its auspices due to the situation in Ukraine.
Source : MatchTV

I am Sandra Jackson, a journalist and content creator with extensive experience in the news industry. I have been working in the news media for over five years. During this time, I have worked as an author and editor at various outlets producing high-quality content that attracts readers from different demographics.