Dirty deeds. Latvia bans its athletes from competing with Belarusians and Russians

All principles of the world sports movement have once again been trampled by two small states on the Baltic coast. Lithuania and Latvia continue to show themselves this summer as extremist countries for the entire Olympism.

One of the latest examples is the ban on entry to Kaunas for Belarusians and Russians for the World Modern Pentathlon Championships, which will take place at the end of August. Or take the recent minor act of the Latvians at the Euroleague in beach soccer.

The problem is that in Latvia it is enshrined at the state level: not to play in sports competitions with Belarusians and Russians. And no matter how much the beach soccer players from Latvia would like to play with the vice-champions of the world, that is, with the Belarusians, they cannot do so, because they are hostages of their regime. Neither UEFA nor the IOC know what to do with the dirty deeds of these two countries.

Mikhail Prokopenko, Chairman of the Belarusian Pentathlon Federation:

"Today we are witnessing a situation where in some countries a minority is trying to control the majority. Our guys, going to international competitions, even in a neutral status, still communicate, including with Ukrainian athletes. In an informal setting, they have the opportunity to interact, exchange opinions. And everyone sees how damaging such a policy is, when, for example, Latvia artificially prohibits its athletes from competing together with Belarusians."