The Indonesian government does not want to issue visas to Israeli athletes for the World Gymnastics Championships. On Tuesday (October 14th, 2025) the International Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) will decide what happens next.
The Israeli Gymnastics Federation had contacted the CAS and demanded that either the participation of its own athletes be guaranteed or that the event be canceled or postponed. The CAS will make an urgent decision on Tuesday, a spokesman confirmed this to the French news agency AFP on Monday.
On Thursday it became known that Muslim-dominated Indonesia does not want to allow gymnasts from Israel to enter the World Cup that begins on Sunday (October 19, 2025). The visas have been canceled, said Minister of Legal Affairs and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra. The decision was based on the Gaza war.
The German Gymnastics Federation (DTB) reacted to the decision on Monday with incomprehension. The association sees “There is no basis for exclusion as, to our knowledge, there has been no decision by the World Gymnastics Federation in this regard“The Israel Gymnastics Federation therefore has the right to participate.
The Israeli association has asked the DTB as well as other European national associations and the World Gymnastics Federation FIG for support; the DTB is planning a joint letter with the Swiss Gymnastics Association and Turnsport Austria to the FIG. This is intended to present Israel’s perspective on participation and call on the FIG to advocate for visas for Israeli athletes.
FIG has “noted the decision of the Indonesian government”.
The world association FIG seems to support the Indonesian government’s decision so far – even though its own statutes stipulate that all athletes and officials of the member associations must be granted entry visas, otherwise the award of the event would be cancelled.
In an initial statement, the FIG indicated that it was not planning any measures against Indonesia’s actions. It said in a statement that it had “noted the decision of the Indonesian government” and recognized “the challenges that the host country faced in organizing this event.”
In 2023, Indonesia was deprived of the U20 World Cup in football
It is not the first time that attitudes towards Israel have influenced the hosting of a major sporting event in Indonesia. In 2023, Indonesian politicians spoke out against Israel’s participation in the run-up to the U20 World Cup in football. Ultimately, the world association FIFA withdrew the World Cup from the country – it took place in Argentina instead.