Russia lauds decision to strip Estonia of hosting Europe’s 2027 Air Rifle Championship

MOSCOW, July 7. /TASS/. A decision to strip Estonia of the right to host the 2027 European Air Rifle Championship after the state authorities refused entry to athletes from Russia and Belarus was justified, as there must be no place for discrimination in sports, a senior lawmaker from the Russian State Duma (the lower house of parliament) told TASS on Tuesday.

On July 6, the European Shooting Confederation (ESC) announced a decision to move the 2027 European Air Rifle Championship from Tallinn, Estonia, to Granada, Spain. The Estonian-based ERR television broadcaster reported later that the move came after the Estonian authorities had announced that they would not allow athletes from Russia and Belarus to participate in the tournament held on their soil.

"It was an appropriate decision in response to discriminatory attitude on behalf of the Estonian authorities," Dmitry Svishchev, deputy chair of the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture and Sports, said. "If the organizers are not fulfilling their obligations, they cannot host events of such level."

"We can only support the decision made by the European [Shooting] Confederation. Competitions of such level should be organized in Russia. We are ready to organize events of any level, the attitude towards all athletes will be respectful, there will be no discrimination," he continued.

"It's high time for some European countries to start thinking about it. This is not the first warning sign for them, but the most serious alarm in their direction," Svishchev added.

The 2027 European Air Rifle Championship is an Olympic qualifying tournament. It will now take place in Granada on March 3-9.

Since 2023, Russian athletes have competed in international shooting competitions under a neutral status.