The WFV secretary general said that at first the FIVB considered the reason for postponing the tournament to be force majeure, which provides for compensation of $20 million, but due to financial losses, its position has changed and it can blame Russia for the postponement
Forward of the Russian national team Maxim Mikhailov
(Photo: Toru Hanai/Getty Images)
This was stated by the general secretary of the All-Russian Volleyball Federation (VVF) Alexander Yaremenko TAXthat the international federation (FIVB) has refused to pay compensation for the relocation of the 2022 men’s world championship to Poland and Slovenia and may try to pin the blame on Russia.
FIVB March 1st endured from Russia, the tournament, which was to be held in ten cities in August-September. WFV President Stanislav Shevchenko declaredthat the preparations for the tournament took almost three years. The WFV asked the FIVB to pay $80 million for the tournament being taken away.
Yaremenko said the FIVB’s initial position was that the World Cup was canceled “due to force majeure, force majeure”. “This article is taken into account in any contract, especially in such an important one as holding the World Cup. This clause stipulates that if the championship is cancelled, half of the entry fee is returned to the claimant. Of the $40 million that Russia paid, $20 million should be returned,” the VFV secretary general said.
According to him, the FIVB subsequently changed its location due to the additional costs of hosting the tournament in other countries. “As far as I understand, we faced great difficulties to keep it. In Russia they could earn money, but here it is necessary to hold the World Cup so as not to lose the image. They changed their position and now Russia can become the guilty party of this write-off, and not force majeure. For example, we could file our counterclaim for 15 million, but we don’t, the championship is canceled and that’s it, ”Yaremenko said.
Yaremenko said that, among other things, due to the FIVB’s position, “the first request should be the maximum in terms of declaring our losses, which is why the amount is so impressive.”
For the first time, Russia was supposed to host the World Cup, which takes place every four years. Previously, the tournament was held in the USSR in 1952 and 1962.
