Russian eSports athletes boycott World Championship qualifying tournaments over flag controversy

Russian eSports athletes will not participate in the World Championship qualifying tournaments due to the requirement to compete without the state flag, said Dmitry Smith, President of the Russian Esports Federation (FKS).

International Esports Federation (IESF) Secretariat Terms and Conditions. Smith they called it illegal and pointed out that the IESF had previously given back to the Russians the right to fly the flag, reports Kommersant.

In August 2023, the IESF allowed Russian teams to participate in international competitions with the anthem and under the flag of the Russian Federation. The Ukrainian Federation responded by threatening to leave the group.

In January, after a protest from the Ukrainian side that the FCC began to work in the regions included in the Russian Federation in 2022, the IESF suspended Russia’s membership.

” General Secretary of IESF (Boban Totovsky) gave the Russian FCC a choice: either sign a voluntary rejection of the flag for all participating athletes, or you will not participate in the World Championship. Such actions are completely contrary to the decision of the IESF conference, where the majority of federations voted for the full lifting of sanctions from the Russian FCC and the return of national symbols,” – Smith said.

According to him, on April 27, the Russian side received a notice of suspension from the competition from the IESF for not signing the agreement. The Russian FCC, in response, provided the IESF board with documents confirming eligibility to participate in the competition.

“The meeting was held on May 7, and only a few days later the decision was received from the IESF. And again not from the board, but from the secretariat,” – stressed the head of the FCC.

The response from the IESF secretariat stated that the board’s decision would be changed retroactively, and that the ultimatum would remain that the Russian Esports Federation itself should force players to compete without a flag until May 15.

There are 143 countries in the IESF. The organization hosts global tournaments in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Dota 2, Tekken 7, eFootball, PUBG Mobile, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang.

The 2024 Esports World Cup qualifiers will begin in June.

At the same time, he is the President of the Russian Wrestling Federation Mikhail Mamiashvili he said he was waiting for news from the International Olympic Committee regarding the conditions for admission to the 2024 Games in Paris.

Russians won a record six Olympic medals in freestyle wrestling and five each in Greco-Roman and women’s wrestling:

“We are waiting for news from the International Olympic Committee about the conditions for entering the Olympics, we are waiting for what the next day has in store. Now anything can come into their sick heads after Thomas Bach performed a prayer service for the saints Lexus and Vovan. Our team won 16 out of 18 Olympic licenses. I can only thank our athletes for the way they coped at the Olympic competitions and showed themselves in the most difficult conditions, for their patience and work. We will start preparatory training on the 17th, with two competitions ahead before the Olympic Games.”