Ukrainian Federation addresses FIBA: 'The cancelation will be perceived as a 'stab in the back' / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

The President of the Basketball Federation of Ukraine, Mykhailo Brodsky, addressed FIBA ​​in an open letter regarding Ukraine and Spain meet-up in Kyiv.

The head of the Ukrainian Federation asked to leave Kyiv as the venue for the 2023 World Cup Qualifiers game against the reigning world champions, the Spanish national team.

The duel in the Eastern European country, which is experiencing an invasion threat by Russia, is scheduled for February 27 in the capital city Kyiv.

Talks about other locations started after the Spanish national team received recommendations from the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs to avoid travel to Ukraine.

The full letter:

"The situation in Ukraine until today could be characterized as unstable and tense, but only if to believe the assessments and judgments of the leaders of some states and the international media, which only exacerbate the situation and create false ideas about what is happening.

It has already come to the point of spreading information about 'closed skies' over Ukraine. All this is false today as we are living a normal life.

Moreover, the start of the Russian troops' withdrawal process from the borders of Ukraine has already been recorded today, which has also been confirmed by statements from the Russian Federation. In 2-3 days everything in our country will stabilize.

If FIBA is sure that Ukraine has a tense and unstable situation, in which it is unacceptable to host an international game, then nothing can be held in Israel, because at any moment, God forbid, a rocket attack may begin (which has already happened more than once) or a terrorist attack may take place.

I consider if the game against Spain in Ukraine will be canceled, it will reverse Ukrainian basketball development by many years. That is why such a decision of FIBA will be reckoned as an unfriendly step towards us and towards our country. It may seem harsh, but such a decision will be perceived as a 'stab in the back' from FIBA.

Please, understand that it is politically very important for us here in Ukraine to host this game in Kyiv.

In this regard, in order to provide the most objective and balanced decision, we kindly ask FIBA to postpone consideration of the game Ukraine-Spain issue to the beginning of next week. Trust me, during this time the situation in Ukraine will be completely normalized and all the risks will disappear."

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