Russia Federation teams banned by FIBA

All Russia Federation Basketball teams have been banned by FIBA the country announced on Wednesday, with all tiers of the national team omitted from further FIBA competitions. The sport’s governing body made the decision after a political spat at the top of Russian Basketball has failed to be resolved. The ban means that the men’s Russia team set to play in September’s European Championship is unlikely to compete, while a place in next year’s Rio de Janeiro Olympics is also under threat.

The Russia Federation received a letter from FIBA, which said that all Russian national teams have been banned,” Sergei Chernov, honorary president of the Russian basketball federation, told the TASS news agency. “For the moment Russia’s FIBA membership was also temporarily suspended. The FIBA final verdict on the case will be announced at its conference on August 8-9.”

Newly elected Russian Basketball Federation President Yulia Anikeyeva has been locked in a dispute with previous head, who has called for new elections to be held. The issue found itself in the Moscow regional courts on June 18th, where the court ordered the federation to hold new elections within 60 days. FIBA has been very critical of the federation for failing to resolve the matter.