Grachan

Laguta should be allowed to ride if he's at all able to. I feel that quite strongly. This, to me, misses the point of the reason why Russian's have been expelled from the series.

Did you not originally say it was about where people were born? So what if Artem continued to represent Russia. They hadn't invaded the Ukraine then. He's not representing them any more because they have banned him for speaking out. Surely the purpose of sanctioning Russian people was to get them to turn against Putin wasn't it? So what purpose does the West banning those that have done so and subsequently been banned in Russia? Surely they should be supported so that people are encouraged to do the same.

Well, they've done it again haven't they? They've had their meeting and someone has come up with some thought from the top of their head and they've all gone: "Oh, what a wizard idea" and voted it in. What happened in the Championship? Did they say: "That's a bit silly. The points system is already worked out to account for drawn matches" so just the Premiership voted it in? They even forgot to tell anyone, so a lot of people won't even know what is going on with the extra race, never mind the fact that the points scored are different to in every other heat. If they want to do this, then use it for cup matches not league matches. Daft.

It makes no sense to me. Why ban a rider who the Russians have banned for speaking out against Vladimir Putin? How does that send any form of message to the Russian authorities? It is effectively supporting the moves made by Russia. I don't get it. How does this encourage Russian people to speak out against the war? If anything it will make them less likely to.

Ah, ok. That complicates things a little then!

If he has Polish citizenship then he is Polish regardless of why he decided to have it. By banning him now they will effectively be ending his Speedway career because he said something against Vladamir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. So who is that pandering to? As I said before, this could be that the Russian authorities put out a statement like that because he has revoked his Russian citizenship. I guess we'll have to wait and see with that. If he has, though, I hope he is allowed to rise in the GP.

I think he already has it. If I search it, I get a Speedway GP "test" page which states: "Artem Laguta’s manager Rafal Lewicki admits becoming a Polish citizen should make speedway life easier for the Russian racer. Rider No.222 recently became a duel national alongside fellow Monster Energy FIM Speedway of Nations winner Gleb Chugunov, with the Wroclaw rider stating..." If I click on the link, however, the page itself does not load. On Google, for Artem Laguta nationality, it says both Polish and Russian.

Not sure what you are saying here. Surely, if Poland ban him, they are merely supporting a ban that Russia has already apparently imposed on him for being against the war so how dos that send a message to Russia. Or is it possible that Laguta has already decided to revoke his Russian citizenship to ride in Poland so the Russians are pre-empting that? If Laguta then rides in Poland they can say that, as he has gone against their ban by riding in a foreign league, they are expelling him from Russian and revoking his citizenship. The reigning World Champion's career could be over here. If we can we should let the guy ride. Banning him now shows support for Russia's actions.

As good a reason as any to give him a chance to revoke Russian citizenship and ride in the GP surely? Or is he stuck in Russia? Artyom Laguta and Vadim Tarasenko are disqualified from the Russian competitions and the Russian Team The Track Commission for Racing on the cinder track analyzed the statements of Russian racers Artyom Laguta and Vadim Tarasenko in the media, as well as on Internet platforms, discrediting the honor and dignity of the Russian Federation and the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. Racers who made unworthy statements and their opinions on the situation in the country do not deserve to be called the proud name of a Russian athlete and represent the honor of the Russian Federation at international competitions. Based on the above, it was decided: 1. Revoke permission to participate in International competitions and international leagues. 2. Revoke the National License (Russian license). 3. Withdraw these athletes from the Russian National Team. 4. To disqualify Artyom Laguta and Vadim Tarasenko from participation in Russian competitions in accordance with the Charter of the IFR and the Sports Code. Cinder Track Racing Commission

I'm not sure it does. The Russian speedway riders with Polish citizenship have the option of riding in the Polish league if they have previously ridden for Poland or if they denounce their Russian citizenship. (Personally, I feel the SGP should have waited to see if Laguta and Sayfutdinov took up this option before expelling them from the GP) Take a look at the line-up for the Indian Wells tennis tournament this week. Plenty of Russians and Belarussians playing, but not representing their country. Daria Saville playing as an Australian, as she has done for several years now. I don't actually think any sports bodies are banning people purely on the basis of them having been born in Russia.

What about Daria Saville? She is a Tennis player. Formerly known as Daria Gavrilova, she now represents Australia having married an Australian and taken Australian citizenship. She has also posted on Twitter that she will be wearing Yellow and Blue at her next tournament in support of the people of Ukraine, and called for other players to join her in doing so. Should she really be banned from playing just because she was born in Russia? I don't think she should.

Maybe if they did what they need to do to ride in the Polish league and denounce their Russian citizenship they could still ride although the FIM statement already says they cannot. If they become Polish at least Poland might be able to win the SON for once!

That might be partly down to a news story I saw a couple of days ago, saying that any Russian spreading what it called "fake news" about what Russia is doing in Ukraine will face up to 15 years in prison. There is also, of course, the risk of getting something nasty put on your door knob if you live overseas. It is not as easy as we, in the west, might think. Maybe that is why Emil has deleted his Twitter account.

Not that I'm aware of. Those are the conditions stated by the Polish league. If Russian riders with Polish citizenship wish to ride in the league then they have to renounce their Russian citizenship.

If they give up their Russian citizenship then they won't be Russian any more. Should people really have no right to forsake their Russian citizenship and move on with their lives if they get the chance to do it? It is not Sayfutdinov and Laguta's fault that the war is going on. Normal people deserve a chance. If they choose not to give up their Russian citizenship then, fair enough, stop them riding. But they have killed nobody. They are just people who happened to be born where they were. Nobody can do anything about that part of themselves.

Me neither, but that was the conditions that were given to allow them to ride in the Polish league and I was replying to a comment that said that it wasn't good enough.

I follow Piers Morgan. It means nothing. Why would you have a problem with him if he is solely Polish? If he is no longer Russian and entirely based in Poland I think we should give the guy a break. EDIT - It looks like his Twitter account has now been removed - assuming EmilSaytudinov89 was the real Emil.

In what way do you not think it is good enough? Surely if they renounce their Russian citizenship and become solely Polish then that should show enough willing and enable them to be a speedway rider.

So it will be with the Russian drivers in Poland - Speedway fans The Polish site Sportowefakty has published information that Russian citizens who have not competed for Poland on a Polish license before will be stopped from driving in the league. At present, Artem Laguta, who is a Polish citizen, has applied to drive on a Polish license, if the new information is correct, it would not matter that he receives a Polish license. Emil Sayfutdinov is also a Polish citizen, but none of them will start if the information is correct. A driver who, on the other hand, is allowed to drive according to the new rules is Gleb Chugunov. This is because Gleb has on previous occasions driven for the Polish national team. In order for a driver who has not driven on a Polish license before to be allowed to change, the Polish Federation requires that they renounce their Russian citizenship.

A good line-up. I'd pay to stream it if it was available.

I can see both sides of the argument really. I don't think it is clear-cut either way in terms of individuals riding as themselves and not representing the country. Is it down to political allegiances too? Russia are waging a war and giving misinformation to their own people to justify it. Did the USA and the UK not do the same when they invaded Iraq? Should Greg Hancock and Scott Nicholls have been kicked out of the Grand Prix in 2003? Where does one draw the line? I'm in regular contact with a Russian guy who lives in the USA as part of my job. I don't have a problem with that.

There are a lot of tennis tournaments going on at the moment and it's interesting to see some of the developments. Ukranian player Elina Svitolina pulled out of the Monterrey Open. She was drawn to play a Russian player and said she will not play any Russian or Belarusian unless they played as stateless. The organisers agreed that her opponent, Anastasia Potapova, will play as a neutral player and representing no country. Svitolina has been very outspoken on this. If this solution is good enough for her then it should be good enough for everyone else.

Another piece of relevant text is: "If not possible for "organisational or legal reasons"".

The IOC is now calling for a ban on all Russians from World sport. IOC calls for ban on Russians from world sport (gulf-times.com)

I'm not sure that they are actually Emil. There is no blue tick to confirm it as real, whereas Tai Woffinden's account has that. They could be fan accounts. Edit - they could be real if you look at some of the people following the Emilsayfutdinov89, account (eg Kelvin Tatum, Jason Crump, Alun Rossiter, Jason Doyle, Darcy Ward, Natilie Quirk).