The Sigulda ice rink will be closed to Russian athletes; Latvian athletes may find themselves in a confusing situation

IN SHORT:

• The current statutes of several international sports federations prevent the legal suspension of Russia
• Russian athletes will not be allowed on the state-owned Sigulda toboggan and bobsleigh track, regardless of the decisions of international institutions
• Boycotting the competition with the participation of Russian athletes would raise the question of state funding for Latvian athletes
• The opportunity for Russian athletes to compete in international competitions will largely be determined by the position of the local organizers

In an interview with Latvian Television, Streng emphasized that the LKSF voted to suspend the Russian team and the national federation, as well as to suspend the members of the FIL board. Streng said he was surprised by the results of the FIL vote.

A few days after the FIL’s decision, Latvia refused to hold an international federation congress, citing a lack of resources. Strenga emphasized that in order to isolate Russia from the international movement, amendments to the FIL statute were needed first. Amendments to the FIL’s extraordinary congress were prevented by the organization’s current statutes, so changes are planned for the FIL’s regular congress in the summer.

The statutes of the FIL define the neutrality of the international federation and prohibit political, racist, religious or any other discrimination against its members.

It was this violation of this article of the statutes that led to the pro-Russian ruling of the FIL Arbitration Court on April 7, 2022. Theoretically, this could be interpreted in the opposite way, stating that another member of the federation, Ukraine, has already suffered from such discrimination. However, it would be very difficult to justify in law that the discrimination was committed by the Russian Luge Federation.

A similar situation could mature in the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF). Its statutes state that the organization is religiously and politically neutral. The IBSF Statutes provide, in certain cases, for the expulsion or suspension of a member for breach of sports discipline, breach of financial obligations, violation of the IBSF Statutes, non-compliance with international rules, anti-doping rules, code of ethics or failure to meet all statutory membership criteria. Exclusion may also be initiated in the event of a member’s criminal conduct, such as fraud.

Edgars Severs, Director of the Sports Department of the Ministry of Education and Science, emphasized that

Irrespective of the decisions of the international federations and later the Sports Arbitration Court, the Sigulda ice rink owned by the Latvian state will be closed to Russian athletes.

“For example, the World Sledding World Cup or the World Bobsleigh and Skeleton World Cup in the new season will not take place in Latvia and will not be funded by the Latvian state if the relevant international federation cannot guarantee that Russian and Belarusian athletes will not take part in in no status, “explained Severs.

A particularly tricky situation could arise if Russian athletes were to be admitted to international competitions. In a survey on the social media account of Latvian Television “Sports Studios”, 77% of respondents indicated that Latvian sledge riders should boycott next season if Russian athletes are allowed to participate.

This would raise further issues such as

to start with state funding if Latvian athletes start in the same competition with Russian athletes, and in a situation where a decision is made to boycott.

Severs admits that there is no final decision on the issue of sanctions.

Strenga, on the other hand, believes that a lot will be determined by the position of the organizers and the country of the competition.

“If all the teams are boycotted and one Russia participates, of course the event will fail,” Streng said. “There’s another thing here. If the Russian Luge Federation still stays in the international federation, will they be invited to the competition? A lot depends on the organizers, the position of the organizers. It’s not so clear.”

The most radical scenarios currently seem unlikely from a logical point of view. However, the efforts of Russian athletes to appeal to legal justice could lead to a number of tricky situations, and not only in luge.

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