Russia bans national teams from going abroad so that athletes cannot escape mobilisation

ROMAN PETRENKO – SUNDAY, 25 SEPTEMBER 2022, 15:05

Russian national sports teams have been banned from going abroad and participating in training camps and competitions there.

Source: TASS [Russia’s Kremlin-aligned news agency]; Inside the Games, citing the Ministry of Sport of Russia

Details: Oleg Matitsin, the Minister of Sport, reported on the order of the Ministry of Sport of Russia to temporarily prohibit the participation of Russia’s national teams in training camps and competitions abroad.

He claimed that this decision was made in order to "strengthen the national sports sector and the formation of sports and economic sovereignty".

However, the Inside the Games media outlet believes that this may be an attempt to prevent desertion by leading athletes. Last week, "partial" mobilisation for the war in Ukraine was announced in Russia, and many men, including sportsmen, have fled or are trying to flee the occupying country.

Background: Men of mobilisation age will be banned from leaving Russia after the sham "referendums", as Russian media outlets reported, citing their sources in the government.

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