Russia is in the news today, for their disputes with an international organization. No, no not the U.N, and not the U.S or any other country. This one is basketball related. FIBA has suspended Russia for a dispute they had with each other.
According to Dimitriy Rogovitskiy of Reuters:
The Russian Basketball Federation (RFB) has been suspended by governing body FIBA, putting their participation in the 2016 Olympics in doubt.
This comes after years of instability at the RFB, which culminated in a June court decision that forced the federation to hold new presidential elections.
Yulia Anikeeva was elected the RFB’s president in August 2013, but the results of the vote were later contested and a court told the federation to hold new elections.
These are due to take place on Aug. 25 and former NBA player Andrei Kirilenko is set to stand as a candidate.
FIBA said in their letter that interference in the running of the RFB was behind their decision.
That claim was contested by Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko, who said they would be prepared to contest the suspension at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
“I will fly there myself to meet with them (FIBA) and take care of the situation. You can’t deal with Russia like this,” Mutko told TASS.
Brazil has already been mentioned as a possible team to be suspended as well. The issue with Brazil is that they have an automatic bid into the games because they are hosting it. Russia was bronze in the 2012 London Games, where U.S won gold. This and the Brazil situation gives room for teams that have improved since then.
