Italy will not play against Russia in the World Cup Qualifiers match / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

Today, the Italian Basketball Federation confirmed that the Italian NT won't play the game against Russia, which is scheduled for July 1st of the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers.

The determination was taken because president Gianni Petrucci didn't appreciate the FIBA decision to wait until May, before making a final statement about the suspension of Russia from international competitions.

"International basketball holds for a stance that will make history, waiting for May to take further action against Russia. I am really disappointed and I did not think it would go that far," Gianni Petrucci wrote.

"It was not enough that almost all the international federations excluded Russia from competitions. There is a war going on, what else needs to happen? Did they consider the potential matchup between Russia and Ukraine in the second round of the Qualifiers? I don't see what could change between now and May.

A similar decision to ours was taken by the Iceland and Netherlands Federations. Both national teams are part of the same group as the Azzurri," added the president.

On March 1, FIBA announced that Russian teams and officials will not be allowed to participate in FIBA Basketball and 3x3 Basketball competitions until further notice.

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