MOSCOW, October 13. /TASS/. The politically motivated refusal of visas to Russian gymnasts for participation in the World Championships shows that EU countries cannot be trusted to host international competitions, Russia’s Sports Minister, head of the Russian Olympic Committee Mikhail Degtyarev said.

The Netherlands refused to issue visas to Olympic champions Angelina Melnikova and Victoria Listunova, as well as Anna Kalmykova. The World Artistic Gymnastics Championships will be held from October 17 to 25 in Rotterdam.

"The politically motivated refusal of visas to the Russian gymnasts by the Netherlands again shows that big sports have no place in Europe. Today Europeans have disregarded the decisions of international organizations (the IOC and World Gymnastics) and denied Russians visas, and next they will deny entry to someone else. Russia has always advocated and continues to advocate for equal access for all athletes to compete under its flag without any discrimination. EU countries cannot be trusted with international competitions," Degtyarev wrote on Telegram.

Earlier, TASS reported that gymnasts Daniel Marinov, Arsenii Dukhno, Sergey Naidin, and Alena Glotova, who received Schengen visas, arrived in the Netherlands. Five more athletes included in the main roster of the Russian national team for the World Championships - Lyudmila Roshchina, Milana Kayumova, Ilia Zaika, Savelii Sieedin, and Mukhammadzhon Iakubov - are also awaiting decisions on their visa applications.

The World Championship in Rotterdam will be the first stage of the team qualification for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Based on its results, the three best men’s and three best women’s teams will receive Olympic quotas.