Indonesia cancels visas of Israeli worlds team

[MaryClare]

This is the only Worlds that officially nullifying the results wouldn't cause major issues. It will be a much bigger deal if the punishment isn't severe enough to say, deter China from denying Taiwanese passports in 2027, which is a direct Olympic qualifying event. Or the Japanese men's team.

As I mentioned up thread, there were already potential issues with Euros in Yerevan

 

[Doug1233]

Surely there's a gym somewhere in the world with the same equipment that's being used at worlds? Send a panel of Cat 3/4 judges there to judge in person (not based on videos) and livestream it to the arena and share the broadcast with the TV station.

There's gotta be a better solution than just saying "oh well", which is seemingly what the FIG is doing.

Put some effort in.

 

[RedBirdie]

I forgot Russian neutral athletes were denied visas from Croatia earlier this year for the Osijek World Cup.

Norway backed out of hosting the FIG Congress in 2023 because they refused to issue visas to Russian and Belarusians.

How the rest of Europe handles neutral athletes if Russia (and Belarus) remain banned next year will be very interesting.

 

[Doug1233]

The FIG really should have had a back up plan here. It's not like this wasn't anticipated...

This is going to shoot Indonesia in the foot. They'll never host an international event ever again.

 

[Doug1233]

FIG statement mentioned safety and peace of mind. Maybe there was threats of a terririst attack on the event.

And then the terrorists win.

 

[Doug1233]

A friend passed along to me some of the socials that have been posted on various Indonesian social accounts - absolutely horrific things about Israel and the Israeli athletes.

Many corners of the gymternet are an absolute cesspool.

 

[Sasha]

The FIG really should have had a back up plan here. It's not like this wasn't anticipated...

This is going to shoot Indonesia in the foot. They'll never host an international event ever again.

I mean, they had a record already, and the FIG still accepted them (I don't think "awarded" is the right word here) as host for Worlds. I won't be shocked if it happened again. Not in gymnastics, but some other sport with its own negligent governing body.

 

[Doug1233]

No-one wants to host the Worlds after the Olympics. It wouldn't surprise me if they cancelled them altogether.

 

[MaryClare]

I forgot Russian neutral athletes were denied visas from Croatia earlier this year for the Osijek World Cup.

Norway backed out of hosting the FIG Congress in 2023 because they refused to issue visas to Russian and Belarusians.

How the rest of Europe handles neutral athletes if Russia (and Belarus) remain banned next year will be very interesting.

The situation in Europe is quite different, particularly when it comes to EU member countries.

Most Russians who are well off enough to travel regularly, including of course professional athletes, tend to have long term Schengen visitor visas. Usually 5 year or 10 year. These can be obtained and renewed from any member country, even if you’ve no intention of travelling there. Some EU countries won’t issue or renew visas to Russians, and some have a reputation for being friendlier (usually Cyprus and Malta).

The situation earlier this year with Croatia was about principle rather than logistics. For a Schengen visa to be withdrawn, the issuing country has to believe that the holder is a serious threat to national security. Or wanted on extradition etc. Whilst some visas issued to Russian nationals have been revoked, the majority on the sanction list are able to continue to travel to EU countries.

 

[JDB]

Important context: Indonesia and some other countries refusing to let Israelis compete in their events is unusual. Countries usually exempt athletes from travel bans.

Japan allows North Koreans to compete there, e.g. 2019 figure skating worlds. North Koreans usually forego these competitions though. Watanabe also received an exemption from North Korea's travel ban so he could visit Pyongyang.

Azerbaijan allows Armenian nationals and ethnic Armenians to compete there, e.g. 2015 European Games. Again, Armenian nationals usually forego competing in Azerbaijan.

 

[ArnoldRimmer]

No-one wants to host the Worlds after the Olympics. It wouldn't surprise me if they cancelled them altogether.

Me neither. So much of the sport seems to be saying no thank you, not this year. We might be getting to critical mass stage.

On a slightly different point, be interesting to see how full the arena is next week. They only started selling tickets a couple of months ago, which I know deterred some people who'd been considering the trip. I assume there must be some local fanbase there, as there is everywhere, but no evidence it's a big one.

 

[MaryClare]

Important context: Indonesia and some other countries refusing to let Israelis compete in their events is unusual. Countries usually exempt athletes from travel bans.

Japan allows North Koreans to compete there, e.g. 2019 figure skating worlds. North Koreans usually forego these competitions though. Watanabe also received an exemption from North Korea's travel ban so he could visit Pyongyang.

Azerbaijan allows Armenian nationals and ethnic Armenians to compete there, e.g. 2015 European Games. Again, Armenian nationals usually forego competing in Azerbaijan.

Armenia regularly refuses visas to Turkish and Azerbaijani athletes. Whether they once again loosen restrictions in light of a main event will come down to whether or not it is in the political interest of the Armenian government.

 

[Turtle88]

China didn't block Taiwan or Japan from the University Games, held in Chengdu in 2023. They didn't block Taiwan or Japan from the World Games last August, also in Chengdu. They didn't block them from attending the Asian Games held in Hangzhou in 2023 either.

China tried to block some athletes from the Philippines from the Asian Games in 2023 though.