Bans Instead of Records: How Latvia and Lithuania Became Pariahs in Global Sports

Once again, the principles of the global sports movement have been trampled by two small Baltic states. Lithuania and Latvia continue to portray themselves as extremist nations within the Olympic community.

The problem lies in Latvia’s official ban on sporting competitions involving Belarusians and Russians. No matter how much Latvian beach football players want to face the vice-champions of the world—Belarusians—they are unable to do so, held hostage by their regime’s policies. Neither UEFA nor the IOC know how to handle these two countries and their disgraceful actions.

The sports officials of these Baltic nations have lost their minds. Lithuania refuses to allow Belarusians and Russians to participate in the 2025 World Modern Pentathlon Championship in Kaunas, a charming Soviet-era town carefully preserved by Soviet architects. The city boasts an ancient castle and, notably, a basketball culture. That’s about it.

A former Belarusian athlete and current head of the Modern Pentathlon Federation, Mikhail Prokopenko, expressed a very precise opinion about the Belarusian and Russian athletes' exclusion:

“We see a situation where a minority is trying to control the majority in certain countries. Belarusian athletes, even competing under a neutral flag, interact and exchange opinions with Ukrainian athletes in private. Everyone recognizes how damaging this policy is—Latvia artificially bans its athletes from competing against Belarusians. The same applies to Lithuania, which hosts the World Modern Pentathlon Championship but refuses to let Belarusian or Russian athletes participate, even in a neutral status. This is, in my view, a sign of weakness. But time will put everything in its place.”

This is entirely characteristic of our current reality. Those who live online and use social media as a platform for statements and slogans are often unsuccessful in real life—this applies to sports as well. The mention of these countries in global media only occurs in moments of controversy and is quickly forgotten.

“Other countries’ governments have no right to interfere in sports and prevent athletes from competing in the World Championships. It’s very unkind to the athletes, but, thank God, stages of the Pavel Lednev Cup are still held. There, the competition is fierce,” said Maria Gnedchik, winner of stages in the Modern Pentathlon World Cup.

There are two major independent organizations—UEFA and FIFA. UEFA governs European football, and FIFA oversees global football. This exemplifies how money rules the game, as in early 2022, amid the wave of banning Belarusian sports, only FIFA and UEFA remained silent.

Belarusians have continued to compete under their flag and proudly sing their national anthem before matches. This did not sit well with Latvian sports officials, who, unnoticed in the broader sports community, resorted to law to do one thing—ban their athletes from playing against Russians and Belarusians.

Two examples in 2025 made everyone laugh: Latvia failed, rather than “refused” (as portrayed) to play against Belarusians in the preliminary stage of the Euro Beach Soccer League.

Earlier, there was a bizarre incident with mini-football, with the final stage scheduled for 2026, including in Latvia. UEFA had to scramble to move part of the tournament out of the country, and it’s unlikely they will host anything there again.

This is happening amid the international handball federations knocking on the door of the IOC— the main organization that, three years ago, opened Pandora’s box. The current conflicts between Israel and Palestine, Israel and Iran, and others seem to be mere childish squabbles to the IOC.

The hypocritical “European” attitude of IOC officials only emphasizes their true allegiance to double standards. The International Handball Federation supports Belarus, but the IOC remains indifferent.

“Handball, like many other sports, except football, is largely dependent on the IOC both legally and financially. Ignoring their recommendations can have serious consequences,” says Andrey Baletsky, General Secretary of the Belarusian Handball Federation.

— Andrey Baletsky, General Secretary of the Belarusian Handball Federation

To remind the world of themselves, Baltic sports officials are ready to ban themselves entirely. Ultimately, they will ban themselves from the entire world without even realizing it.