The Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine has banned Ukrainian national delegations from participating in competitions in which athletes from the Russian Federation and Belarus perform. The decree concerns both Olympic and non-Olympic sports, to which esports belongs. The decision was made a few weeks before the start of the BLAST.tv Paris Major, whose organizers clearly do not advocate public support for Ukraine: in post-match interviews, the slogan "Glory to Ukraine" was cut out, and anti-war statements or simply supporting the country are prohibited.
Consequences for NAVI and Monte
Ukrainians from the Monte and NAVI teams have already qualified for the major: s1mple, b1t, npl, B1ad3, DemQQ, Woro2k, sdy, lmbt, and one more coach. The fate of B8 Esports will be decided in the coming days during the draw of the Contenders stage. Also, with a score of 2-2 on RMR B are NIP with headtr1ck.
For Monte, the law may result in future problems with leaving the country upon returning to Ukraine, and it is necessary to return monthly. Since, according to lmbt, the Ukrainian players were organized as a national team through the Cybersport Federation of Ukraine, the issue of participation in the major is in abeyance.
We have a [esports] federation that has helped us greatly. Only all these federations allow you to travel abroad and participate in competitions as part of the Ukrainian national team. This is how it looks and sounds. [...] Now it will be impossible.Sergiy lmbt Bezhanov
As for B8, the situation may be similar to Monte – their Dota 2 squad went to Mexico to participate in the event, albeit in an online format, precisely thanks to FKU.
Ukrainian NAVI players abroad should not be affected by the law at all - s1mple and b1t left Ukraine before the start of the war, and npl can cross the border without problems until he turns 18.
Headtr1ck's situation is unclear - he came of age last summer, but in September, he posted a photo with his family in Prague. Most likely, he left the country before his birthday in June.
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The founder of Maincast Vitaliy v1lat Volochai claims that since the decree concerns tournaments regulated by federations, the consequences for esports, unlike traditional sports, will be minor. The International Esports Federation conducts only the annual IESF World Esports Championship, which in the CS:GO community is trendy among viewers.
I will say this, the problem with the departure of athletes is not the most terrible of what this law entails. If Monte or B8 play in a tournament where FORZE plays, the worst thing that can happen is that the federation will be stripped of its national status, which it does not have anyway.
Therefore, this law is not about esports, and ultimately it does not affect it because there are no competitions in esports that any federation can influence. So don't worry :) It's more about other sports where there are national teams.Vitaliy v1lat Volochai
We note that v1lat somewhat contradicts himself since the Cybersport Federation of Ukraine has been national since 2021, according to the second decree of the relevant ministry. In the coming days, we should probably expect announcements from Ukrainian esport clubs and FKU, which will more clearly shed light on the fate of the teams in terms of traveling across the border to participate in competitions.
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