Russia Claims the International Volleyball Federation Is Ready to Readmit It to Competitions
The aggressor state continues its attempts to return to the international sporting arena.
Nikolai Patrushev, an aide to the Russian president and chairman of the supervisory board of the All-Russian Volleyball Federation, has claimed that the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) and the European Volleyball Confederation (CEV) are allegedly ready to allow Russia to return to the international stage, but are unable to do so because of pressure from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
“I would like to point out that we have very good relations with the international volleyball federations, and our volleyball federation is very strongly represented there. The leadership of these international organisations says: ‘We would be delighted to have Russia as one of the participants.’ This is interesting to them because they also need the level of competition to increase. For now, much depends on the International Olympic Committee. It turns out that these international organisations are under its [the IOC’s] pressure and are unable to make the decision themselves, but they are ready,” Patrushev said in a comment to the Russian TV channel Rossiya-1.
The FIVB and the CEV have not yet commented on Patrushev’s statements.
It should be recalled that since 2022, following the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian clubs and national teams have been excluded from all international tournaments.
Russia continues to wage a brutal war against Ukraine, killing civilians, destroying cities and infrastructure, and terrorising the civilian population. Under these circumstances, discussions about the return of Russian teams to international sport appear cynical and immoral.
Russian volleyball clubs openly support the war, and military symbols and “Z” slogans are frequently seen at matches. Sport, which should be above politics, has long since become a propaganda tool in Russia — a means of justifying the state’s crimes and creating an image of an allegedly strong and united nation.
Unfortunately, despite Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, there are still volleyball clubs in Europe and Asia that have not ended their cooperation with Russian and Belarusian athletes. Some are even signing new contracts with representatives of the aggressor states, ignoring their moral responsibility and the ethical standards of international sport.
Particularly painful is the fact that Ukrainian volleyball players sometimes play for such clubs as well.
There are also volleyball players from other countries — the United States, Italy, France, Argentina, Serbia, Cuba, China, Morocco, Bulgaria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Iran — who deliberately travel to Russia to play for local clubs.
International sports organisations, meanwhile, must remain on the side of justice and humanity. As long as Russian missiles continue to strike Ukrainian cities, any “return to competitions” would amount to appeasement of the aggressor. Russia must remain isolated until it ends the war, acknowledges its crimes and compensates for the damage it has caused.
