As Lithuania opposes the participation of Russians and Belarusians in the Paris Olympic Games, tennis players from these countries will compete in the tournament in Vilnius, LRT radio reported on Monday.
Two Belarusians and a Russian will compete in the Vitas Gerulaitis Cup professional tennis tournament.
The head of the Lithuanian Tennis Union, Ramūnas Grušas, says that according to the rules of the International Tennis Federation, the organizers themselves cannot exclude athletes from the list of participants, but decisions can be made by the country's authorities.
"We cannot theoretically or physically forbid them to register for that tournament and come if they are allowed to cross the border of our country. We would love to see them banned, but today they come into our country and play where they can play. The ATP tour has left the opportunity for tennis players from these countries to play under a neutral flag, this happens all over the world," explained R. Grušas.
Deputy Minister of Education Linas Obcarskas says that he did not know that athletes from Russia and Belarus had registered to play in the tennis tournament held in Lithuania this week. At that time, the leader of the parliament, Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, believes that these athletes registered for the tournament should be declared unwanted in Lithuania.
"One of the strictest ways is to approach the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and consider the possibility of denying entry to one or another athlete by declaring them undesirable," she said.
Last week, the ministers responsible for sports of the Baltic countries and Poland decided to appeal to international sports federations and the International Olympic Committee, demanding that Russian and Belarusian athletes not be allowed to participate in international competitions.
