At the end of October, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled that Russian athletes can participate in the International Luge Federation (FIL) competitions under in the status of supposedly ‘neutral’ athletes. As a result, the Sigulda stage of the World Cup in luge is under threat as, since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Latvia does not allow Russian athletes to compete on its soil alongside Latvian athletes.
The President of the Latvian Luge Federation (LKSF) Klāvs Vasks told Latvian Television in an interview that although the LKSF respects the CAS decision, it also strongly does not support the participation of Russian athletes of any status in World Cup competitions or the Olympic Games.
However, the issue of the luge World Cup stage in Sigulda, scheduled for the first weekend of January, is currently becoming very pressing.
“We do not have a manual on how to act in such situations. It is clear that all teams expect the stage to be held, but our existing legislative framework prohibits neutral and Russian athletes from participating in competitions in Latvia, so we are looking for legal ways to ensure that the stage in Sigulda still takes place.”
Vasks emphasizes that in the dialogue with the FIL, a way will have to be found to enforce local laws and prevent neutral athletes from participating here. There are countries that are ready to accept athletes with the convenient ‘neutral’ status.
Representatives of Latvia were invited to the arbitration court as witnesses, and Vasks expressed the fact there about a clause in Latvian legislation that would put both the FIL and the LKSF in an awkward situation – in effect the Latvian team could be completely excluded from the competition. “The prevailing position from the International Olympic Committee is not surprising, but we hoped that CAS would help resolve it.”
Given the time when this decision was made – at the very start of the luge season, neither the teams nor the organizers are ready for this situation, so the FIL’s position on how this issue will be interpreted will be very important. “We, in consultation with the Ministry of Education and Science, will look for a way to give the IOC direction and arguments as to why we do not want to see them here at this time and will not be able to host them.”
If the CAS decision remains unchanged, and Latvian legislation is respected and no common compromise is found, Vasks’ view of the future is quite pessimistic. “If we exclude Sigulda from the World Cup circuit in the long term, then in a five- or ten-year perspective, it would be the end of this sport in Latvia.”
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