Despite the total sanctions in relation to Russian sports, our athletes continue to perform at international competitions in neutral status, and the tendency indicates an even larger return. However, cautious conversations are being held about the anthem and flag of Russia.

Nevertheless, in individual tournaments, the national melody should still sound. They also waited for her before the fight according to the rules of boxing in MMA Poles at a tournament in Kazakhstan, but everything turned out to be a large scandal.

Provocation? The organizers deny

Nomad Fighting Kazakhstani promotion in Alma-Ata instead of the arena of sports fights turned into an unexpected place for a scandal with political subtext. According to the organizers, everything turned out by chance, but the resonance in any case turned out to be powerful.

In the main battle of the evening in the ring, Russian fighter Mukhamed Kalmykov and the local athlete Azamat Bakytov met in the ring. The usual ceremony before the start of the fight was to be the execution of the state hymns of the two countries. But if the Kazakhstan melody sounded quickly and without any problems, then the anthem of Russia was simply not included. As if it should be so. As a result, an awkward pause, which grew into the start of the fight itself.

At that time, the fighters, judges and organizers said nothing, focusing on the battle. It is clear that Russian athletes in such tournaments are regularly performed, and before that the anthem has turned on regularly. The question immediately arose: what is the true cause of what happened? Indeed, in the framework of the promotion, Russian symbolism and identity are not prohibited.

I did not want to believe in a provocation, although the thoughts of fans and experts had a variety of different ones. After some time, representatives of the organizers of the competition, who called not to look for a political context in the scandal, took the floor.

-The Nomad Fighting League leadership says that the anthem of the Russian Federation did not sound before the main fight solely because of technical problems. We ask you not to incite unreasonable provocations, ”the organization said in a statement published on social networks.

Mukhamed Kalmykov / Photo: © social networks Mukhamed Kalmykova

An apology is accepted

Following the organizers, the fighter Kalmykov, as well as his manager Vitaly Tarasov, also responded to the incident. Muhamed said that the organizers brought him a public apology and promised that this would not happen again.

– In the moment, I did not even quite understand what exactly happened. When there are a few minutes before the battle, you are extremely concentrated on an opponent and performance. After the fight, I learned from my manager about what happened, and it became very unpleasant. As a result, they assured me that it was a technical problem. The organizers apologized and explained the situation in the public field, ”Kalmykov said“ Match TV ”.

Despite the incident before the battle, Kalmykov completed him in his favor. The Russian won the technical knockout in the second round.

– It was evident that the organizers themselves were confused, and they felt uneasy. I was immediately informed that this was a technical problem, and promised to explain the situation after the tournament. As a result, the organizers assured us that there could be no question of any prejudice and that in the future such a situation will not happen again. True, it is likely that the league will generally cancel the ceremony of turning on any hymns in front of title battles, ”Tarasov added.

I would like to believe that it really was an isolated case. It is pleasant that Kazakhstan quickly recognized the error, eliminating the political connotation. What was the real reason, we probably will not find out. But it was necessary to respond promptly, which in the end happened. The situation once again showed that its rights must be defended, and the Russian anthem one way or another will soon play not only at MMA tournaments.