Minister of the Interior: Faeser wants to refuse visas to athletes from Russia

Stand: 12.05.2023 | Reading time: 2 minutes

MFederal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser wants to prevent athletes from Russia and Belarus from taking part in international competitions in Germany with a visa ban. “If the Federal Foreign Office agrees with me in this position, we will refuse visas to Russian and Belarusian athletes entering Germany,” said the SPD politician on Friday after the 47th Conference of Sports Ministers in Frankfurt am Main.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) recently opened the door to a partial return to the world sporting arena for both nations, which were banned from all international sporting competitions last year because of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. The sovereignty over an approval is now in the hands of the international professional associations.

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For the time being, a planned cancellation of state funding for international competitions in Germany in the event of participation by Russian and Belarusian athletes is off the table. “We discussed this with the German Olympic Sports Confederation and decided to refrain from doing so, because otherwise we would cause great damage to the organizers,” reported Hesse’s Interior Minister Peter Beuth (CDU).

IOC decision “a wrong signal”

On the other hand, the conference of sports ministers unanimously and expressly encourages the federal government to use the visa policy to prevent Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in competitions in Europe,” Beuth continued.

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There was also agreement that “the warmonger Russia should not use international sporting events as a stage for its propaganda,” said Faeser. “The Conference of Sports Ministers is unanimously opposed to the re-admission of Russian and Belarusian athletes,” said Bavaria’s Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU). The latest IOC decision is “a wrong signal”.