President of the Russian Skateboarding Federation and Ambassador of the International Federation of This Sport (World Skating) Ilya Vdovin, in an interview with socialbites.ca, told how Russians were not allowed to participate in the prestigious tournament in Montpellier under pressure from local authorities.
“Russians are still allowed to participate in a number of international business competitions. Last year our guys performed in the Czech Republic and France. But somewhere the political pressure is too serious or local authorities are insuring themselves against possible trouble and attacks.
For example, the world-famous FISE series could not invite Russians to its main event in Montpellier, even though we have been friends with the organizers for many years.
FISE Executive Director Olivier Pascal (participant of our first Grand Skate Tour tournament in Nizhny Novgorod in 2019) wanted to see the Russians, but the mayor of Montpellier said: “Let’s do it without the Russians.”
Naturally, since they received the main funding from this mayor’s office, they had to accept it,” Vdovin said.
The American, who previously played for the Russian national team Games will not be allowed.
Source: Gazeta
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