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The Kosovo Olympic Committee said on Saturday that the representative table tennis team was not allowed to participate with equal rights in the European U-21 Table Tennis Championship held in Belgrade, Serbia.
In an announcement by the Kosovo Olympic Committee, it is stated that Serbian politics continues to interfere in sports, discriminating against Kosovo athletes. “We have been in constant contact with the Kosovo Table Tennis Federation during the European participation process, for which we condemn the next action of mixing Serbian politics in sports, which is not the first case, when it comes to our athletes”.
The Olympic Committee said that it hopes that “the European Table Tennis Federation (ETTU) will take the necessary measures against the organizer of the European, in this case Serbia, with the belief that such discrimination will end once and for all”, the reaction says.
Even the Kosovo Table Tennis Federation, through a reaction, said that not allowing Kosovo to participate in the European Youth Championship with equal rights as any other member of the European Table Tennis Federation, constitutes a serious violation and that it will use legal remedies in this regard. all sports judicial mechanisms.
The authorities in Serbia have not provided any clarification on this matter.
The decision of the Serbian authorities provoked strong reactions from the authorities in Kosovo, according to which the ban was unacceptable.
The Minister of Culture and Youth in the government of Kosovo, Hajrullah Çeku, said during a conference with journalists that this is a serious violation of the rights of athletes and international sports conventions.
“Serbia continues with destructiveness and for this we are notifying all the relevant European authorities. Our sports organizations will proceed with legal actions in the relevant international institutions”, said Minister Çeku.
Mr. Čeku said that the institutions of Kosovo will support the sports federations in, as he said, the legal battle with Serbia.
“We will be supportive of our sports organizations to address in legal, international ways these violations of the state of Serbia in relation to the athletes of Kosovo because Serbia has turned into a recidivist in relation to the violation of the rights of our athletes, this it is not the first time that our athletes are being denied the right to participate in international championships”, said Minister Çeku.
It is not the first time that tensions between Kosovo and Serbia affect sports activities. Serbian authorities often advise their athletes to boycott ceremonies involving Kosovo athletes.
Serbia continues to oppose the independence of Kosovo declared in February 2008 with the support of the United States and the main countries of the European Union. However, it is involved in a negotiation process for the normalization of relations with Kosovo, in exchange for integration into the European Union.
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