Russia requires payment from athletes if they change their citizenship.
The Russian State Duma does not like the country’s athletes changing their citizenship. EPA / AOP
Russian athletes were banned from international competitions when Russia expanded its war of aggression in Ukraine in February 2022. Since then, some Russian athletes have ended up changing their citizenship in order to compete in international competitions.
Now Russia wants to intervene in this.
The Russian State Duma is in the process of passing a law that obliges Russian athletes to pay compensation if they change their citizenship in order to participate in international competitions, reports a Russian Champions.
– If an athlete who is or has been a candidate for the Russian national team is registered with a sports federation of a foreign country, the athlete in question must pay compensation for his sports training to the Russian sports organization or organizations that have offered it to him, the bill says.
According to Championat, the amount of the compensation is determined by the expenses arising from the athlete’s training.
The law also states that the athlete does not have to pay the compensation in question if, before registering, he has not been a candidate for the Russian national team in the previous three years.
The Compensation Act was developed by the All-Russian Sports Federation and approved by the executive body of sports culture.
Individual sports federations have accepted Russian athletes back to international competitions after the March decision of the International Olympic Committee IOC. However, Russian athletes have competed with neutral national symbols. In turn, it has caused outrage in Russia.