Latvian Saeima bans national teams from playing against Russia and Belarus
2 February 2024 09:48
Latvia’s national sports teams are banned from playing against the national teams of Russia and Belarus as a result of amendments to the Law on Sports, the 
citing the Latvian Saeima.
The new amendments stipulate that Latvian national teams will not be able to compete with Russian and Belarusian teams in any status – even if the opponents fly a neutral flag. The ban applies to teams of all ages: adults, youth and juniors.
The basic idea of these amendments is to establish at the national legislative level that Latvian sports teams, for example, in basketball, football or hockey, cannot play joint matches with teams from the aggressor countries of Russia and Belarus – neither on their own nor on a neutral field.
The main purpose of the amendments to the law is to once again emphasise Latvia’s solidarity with Ukraine and to fundamentally block any attempts by Russia to legitimise its war crimes through the sports industry.
It is worth noting that the changes do not affect the participation of Latvian athletes in the Olympic Games, the decision on their participation remains the responsibility of the Latvian Olympic Committee.
According to the recommendations of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the national teams of Russia and Belarus remain suspended from most sports. Even if “neutral” Russians and Belarusians are allowed to participate in individual events at the 2024 Olympics, they are banned from team tournaments.
At the end of January 2023, the president of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, Vadym Hutzeit, expressed the possibility of boycotting the Olympic Games if Russian and Belarusian athletes were allowed to participate. Also, on 29 January of the same year, President Zelenskyy sent a letter to the President of France expressing outrage at the possible use of the 2024 Olympics to propagate Russia’s aggression.
