Ukraine forfeits World Cup match against Russia in Malta
The Ukrainian men’s water polo team has been handed a technical defeat after refusing to take the pool for their seventh-place match against Russia at the World Cup Division 2 in Malta.
World Aquatics officially recorded the result as a 0-5 loss on Monday.
Oleksandr Diadiura, a representative of the Water Polo Federation of Ukraine and former national team captain, confirmed to the Ukrainian ‘Champion’ that the decision to boycott the fixture was made immediately upon the potential match-up being identified.
Diadiura noted that the federation was currently in discussions with World Aquatics to mitigate potential disciplinary actions.
The President of the FWPU, Alexander Svishchov, described the situation as unprecedented.
“We are fighting to ensure our actions are not punished, as the regulations do not permit a team’s failure to appear for a game,” Diadiura said.
He added that the range of possible sanctions remains wide, including the potential disqualification of the national federation for one to two years, which could impact youth teams and future international participation.
The Head Coach of the national team, Alexey Shvedov, repeated these sentiments, stating that sport does not exist in a vacuum.
“There is no neutrality in a team representing Russia,” Shvedov said. “Every player from that side is a representative of a system that is destroying our country. To go out against them on the water would mean recognising their right to be part of the world sports community, which they themselves have deprived themselves of by their actions.”
The Russian side arrived at the pool and completed their warm-up before the technical defeat was declared.
Mikhail Degtyarev, the Russian Minister of Sport and President of the Russian Olympic Committee, addressed the boycott on his Telegram channel, stating that regulations provide a definitive response to such actions.
“Regarding the news of Ukraine refusing to participate in the match against Russia, sports rules give a clear answer to all boycotts – they are equated to a defeat,” Degtyarev wrote.
“A team that constantly boycotts something logically drops out of the competition, and only those who compete remain. According to the regulations, a team refusing to participate is automatically awarded a 0-5 defeat. So, the more boycotts there are, the fewer there will ultimately be.” –Insidethegames.biz
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