Latvian legislators are trying to harm Russian sports in an extremely sophisticated way. Punishing their hockey, limiting their own basketball and leaving no chance for local football, the deputies of the Baltic country intend to cause irreparable damage to … Russia!

Now we will not see Lauris Darzins on the ice, Janis Timma on the basketball court, Alexander Starkov at the edge of the football field.

The most stupid example of political interference in sports.

Decision of the Seimas

Amendments to the Law on Sports, adopted by the Saeima of Latvia, prohibit athletes and coaches from this country from participating in tournaments in Russia and Belarus. We are also talking about teams that could express a desire to compete in two neighboring states.

So that some cunning people would not want to circumvent the legal ban, the text also spoke about international tournaments, where more than half of the teams represent Russia and Belarus. So you won’t be able to get lost in the conventionally international KHL, MHL or VTB United League. Deputies have not forgotten also about sports agents with whom it is now impossible for respectable Latvian athletes to deal.

Violators, however, are not going to be shot or thrown into prison. If from now on it will indeed be impossible for clubs to participate in a common sports space with Russian and Belarusian rivals, then in the case of athletes and coaches there are options. Those who disagree will be able to perform in Russia if they wish, but for this they will not be invited to the Latvian national team, and they will also be deprived of payments from the state and local budgets. Another question is, how many sportsmen from the Baltic republics are interesting for our professional teams?

Extras and outsiders

The problems of Latvian sports are of last interest to us, so let’s evaluate the damage from the decision of the Latvian Seimas for Russia. Some time ago, basketball and hockey teams from a neighboring country competed with us in a single space. They did not manage to score significant successes – they were mostly extras and outsiders.

Riga ASK appeared in one season of the VTB United League at the dawn of its creation, took seventh place out of eight. In 2009, the three-time winner of the European Cup, who shone in Soviet times under the name SKA, went bankrupt and disappeared. The Moscow VEF competed in the United League for much longer, but the team did not rise above seventh place. In 2019, the club left the tournament ahead of today’s bans.

In hockey, the history of relationships ended recently. Dynamo Riga has played in the Kontinental Hockey League since its inception. The team reached the quarterfinals of the Gagarin Cup twice, won the long-forgotten Cup of Hope. In the last seven seasons, Dynamo did not reach the playoffs, in the regular season they lived mainly at the bottom of the standings. The club made the decision to leave the KHL this year, but some time before the Sports Law was updated.

Photo: © KHL / Yury Kuzmin

Without Vitolinsh and Starkov

It can be assumed that the impact on tournaments due to the ban on Latvian teams for our leagues will hardly be significant, and therefore you should not be afraid of the consequences. First, everyone who wanted to leave left early. Secondly, these clubs did not impose serious competition, occupying almost the role of scenery in general tournaments. So it turns out that the decision of the authorities is petty sabotage: absurd and useless.

What about athletes and coaches?

There has not been an influx of talent from Latvia in football for a long time. The times when Juris Laizans and Alexander Kolinko played for us, and Alexander Starkov was on the coaching bench, are in the past. In basketball, there was more benefit from the Latvians, but there is no need to talk about the upcoming mass exodus. Everyone who wished to leave the VTB United League well in advance.

Janis Timma / Photo: © Roman Kruchinin / Contributor / Euroleague Basketball / Gettyimages.ru

In hockey, legionnaires from this country could really like certain teams. The application of the Olympic team to participate in the Beijing Games included three representatives of Russian clubs – two from Admiral, one from Sochi. It should be assumed that next season the KHL clubs could be replenished by someone from the representatives of the Riga Dynamo. However, taking into account the talk about tightening the limit on foreigners, the Latvians did not have much chance of signing a contract.

Probably one of the most unfortunate consequences of the decision of the Seimas was the ban for Harijs Vitolins to work with Russian teams. Nevertheless, many pleasant memories are associated with this coach among our fans, including the victory in the final of the 2014 World Cup over the Finns.

Now the 53-year-old specialist is involved in the Latvian national team, and therefore he is definitely not in a position to oppose the authorities. In the future, however, the usual companion of Oleg Znark may well come to Russia, if the threat of excommunication from state funding does not frighten him very much. The same applies to all other representatives of the Latvian hockey, basketball, football, and any other disciplines.