Sports body refuses to pay Russia multimillion-dollar compensation – official
Officials at international volleyball federation FIVB have refused to meet multimillion-dollar compensation obligations after stripping Russia of the 2022 Men’s World Championships, according to Russian official Aleksandr Yaremenko.
The 2022 men’s volleyball showpiece was due to be held from August 26 to September 11 at venues in 10 Russian cities.
As part of sanctions imposed on Russia by FIVB in March because of the conflict in Ukraine, the tournament was removed from the country and ended up being jointly hosted by Poland and Slovenia.
Russia has since demanded compensation from FIVB – although according to Yaremenko, who is secretary general of the All-Russian Volleyball Federation (VVF), the global governing body has reneged on its obligations.
“Initially, the position of FIVB was that the World Championships were canceled due to force majeure,” Yaremenko told TASS on Thursday.
“This point is taken into account in any agreement, especially such an important one as [the agreement] for holding the World Championships.
“This clause states that if the championships are canceled, half of the entry fee is returned to the applicant. Of the $40 million Russia paid, $20 million should be returned.”
Yaremenko added that FIVB had endured “great difficulties” in shifting the tournament to Poland and Slovenia, and had done so simply to save face.
“In Russia, they could have made money, but they needed to hold the World Championships [in Poland and Slovenia] in order not to lose image.
“They changed their position, and now Russia can become the guilty party of this cancelation, and not a force majeure.”
The Russian volleyball federation says it has filed a legal case against FIVB at a Swiss court, seeking $80 million in compensation.
“That’s why there was a case with [compensation] claims, at this stage the first claim should be the maximum in terms of declaring our losses. Therefore, the amount is so impressive,” Yaremenko explained.
The FIVB 2022 Men’s Volleyball World Championships were one of numerous major sports events which Russia was stripped of after launching its military campaign in Ukraine.
UEFA removed the Champions League final from St. Petersburg which was due to be held in May, while ice hockey federation the IIHF stripped Russia of the 2023 World Championships in both men’s and junior hockey. Formula 1 bosses also canceled their annual Grand Prix in Russia.
Russian football officials revealed in October that UEFA had compensated them in full, although elsewhere Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin has said that money is still owed by other international organizations.
