in the LTV program “What is happening in Latvia?”, for representatives of the sports community discussing sanctions against Russian and Belarusian athletes, the “Grand Slam” tennis tournament held in Australia in January was mentioned as an example. Latvian tennis player Aļona Ostapenko reached the quarter-finals in Melbourne, while Belarusian Arina Sabaļenka, competing under a neutral flag, triumphed.
Minister of Education and Science responsible for sports Čakša believes that athletes who compete in such competitions should not be financed from the state budget and included in the Latvian national team.
“It is a dual situation. In my opinion, if an athlete chooses such a thing, then after that he can no longer receive public funding or state-guaranteed funding. The question is whether he can be in the national team,” said Čakša. “I don’t think so.”
A couple of days later, the minister had not changed her mind, even though the Sports Law in its current version does not prevent Latvian athletes from competing in the same competitions with athletes from Russia and Belarus.
“I don’t think we should go into law with it, but there will be such a point in the contractual relations regarding the distribution of funding,” Chaksha said. “Sure [Latvijas] For the Olympic units and for the federations, where funding from the state budget is distributed by the Ministry of Education and Science, we put in the fact that the funding should not be directed to athletes who participate in games in which athletes from Russia and Belarus participate.”
The minister emphasized that there is no gray zone in this matter, so Latvia’s position must be strict.
Any exception could be used by the aggressor states Russia and Belarus.
“It will not be my decision alone. We still have a joint discussion with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on how to solve all of this and move forward. There is both a moral aspect and an understanding of the athletes’ situation,” said Chaksha. “Personally, I believe that it is not necessary to finance and allow the participation of athletes who are in the same category as the athletes of Russia and Belarus.”
If the minister’s initiative finds listening ears, none of the Latvian hockey players of the National Hockey League (NHL) will be able to play in the national team in the world championship in the spring.
as well as, for example, those playing in the German league. Otherwise, the Latvian Hockey Federation (LHF) would risk being left without state funding. Also, leading tennis players and cyclists will have to leave the Latvian Olympic Team (LOV), and these athletes will no longer be able to represent Latvia at the national team level either.
The representative of the Latvian Olympic Committee (LOC) Dace Gulbe expressed that the LOC considers it inadmissible to participate as part of the Latvian national team and individually in such international sports competitions that have not suspended athletes from Russia and Belarus, including Olympic qualification competitions.
The LOK explained that the issue of the future of specific athletes in the LOV will be discussed at its plenary meeting on February 17.
Officials of the surveyed federations agree – athletes from Russia and Belarus should not be allowed to compete in the Olympic Games, as well as in the European and World Championships, even under a neutral flag.
However, with regard to the individual careers of Latvian athletes, the federations ask not to harm Latvian sports with hasty decisions – especially if Ukraine has not denied its athletes participation in the same competitions as athletes from aggressor countries.
General Secretary of the Cycling Federation, Tom Marks, believes that athletes’ work under contract in professional teams should not be subject to sanctions.
“If we can’t get the points to participate in the Olympics, then we can’t participate there. I think it would be much more appropriate to let the guys do their jobs in the team formations,” explained Marks. “One more thing that I didn’t mention – Ukrainian athletes are and will be participating in this competition. The Ukrainian Cycling Federation has currently not prohibited athletes from representing their professional teams.”
The president of the Latvian Tennis Union, Ernests Gulbis, also invites athletes to listen.
“We cannot ignore the individual opinion of each athlete, and we have to listen to them as well, in order to jointly reach a solution where Russian aggression in Ukraine is not legitimized through sports, but we also do not harm domestic athletes because of the decisions of certain international organizations,” Gulbis emphasized.
On the other hand, LHF General Secretary Roberts Plėžės reckons that, if the minister’s initial plan comes true, there will be significant difficulties for the national team.
“If the changes in the rules were applied to the extent that was announced [LTV] in the program, then in the future it could make it difficult not only for the composition of the Latvian hockey team, but also for the competitiveness of our national team at the world level,” admitted Plūjejs. “We have always respected and respected the sports laws adopted by the state and their amendments. We will carefully follow the course of events and make decisions within the framework of the norms adopted by the state.”
Article 106 of the Constitution provides for everyone’s right to freely choose an occupation and workplace according to their abilities and qualifications. On the other hand, Article 116 mentions the cases when these rights can be limited – in order to protect the rights of other people, to protect the democratic state system, public safety, well-being and morality.
LTV interviewed several respectable lawyers – no one saw a sufficient reason to apply Article 116 of the Constitution to restrict athletes, but the final word would still belong to the Constitutional Court.
Unofficially, it is known that her party members also expressed surprise at the idea expressed by Minister Chaksha at the backstage level.
