Intense diplomatic manoeuvring in Athens over first Russian team in European tournament

According to information obtained by Euronews, the presence of the Russian club Sintez Kazan in the qualifying group of the Euro Cup in water polo, hosted by Apollon Smyrnis at the Serafeio Swimming Pool of the City of Athens, was accompanied by intense diplomatic manoeuvring behind the scenes.

This tournament marked the official return of Russian teams to European cross-border sports competitions, after their abrupt removal when Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. The draw carried out by the European confederation meant that this comeback would take place in Greece.

This, however, did not go unnoticed by the Greek government, which at the same time is participating in the EU's collective sanctions against Moscow. Because of those sanctions, the Russian team was unable to find a direct flight to Athens or to any destination in the European Union.

No national anthems played

The issue reached the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which issued guidance both for heightened but discreet security measures and for keeping Russian flags out of the Serafeio Swimming Pool, as well as any playing of the Russian national anthem. This obstacle was overcome by the decision not to play any national anthem at all, not even the Greek one, but only club anthems such as that of the hosts Apollon Smyrnis.

No mention of the countries of origin of the teams was made on the tournament poster, a deliberate move, although no one hid that "we are talking about Russia's comeback to aquatics".

Inside the pool, behind one of the goals, there was a row of flags (including those of the City of Athens, Apollon Smyrnis and several countries such as Greece, Germany and Israel, but not Russia).

The Greek government confirmed to Euronews that it was assured not only that there would be no Russian symbols in the arena, but also that the Kazan team would compete as a neutral side, as had been the case for Russian teams and athletes in aquatics up until last summer.

However, that regime has changed, and Russia can now be represented in full, according to European Aquatics. That is why on its official website (source in Greek), Kazan is explicitly listed as representing Russia, with the colours of the Russian flag also displayed.

Change of stance towards Russia

Last July, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) itself changed its stance towards Russia and largely relaxed the sporting sanctions against it, while clarifying that the final decision for each sport would be taken by the respective sports federation.

Since then, some federations have proceeded to lift sanctions (for example, judo, wrestling and others), while there are also those, such as athletics, that continue to ban Russian athletes from taking part, prompting Moscow to challenge this ban at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

The World Aquatics federation, in contrast to the athletics body, was one of the first to move towards lifting sanctions on Russians, as early as 13 April (source in Greek), well before the IOC issued its well-known recommendation.

World Aquatics thus became the first major Olympic federation to fully scrap the political exclusion guidelines that had been in place since 2022, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Its board decided to fully restore the membership rights of Russia and Belarus, on the grounds that "sport must stay out of political conflicts". The decision provided for a complete return, even allowing the use of national symbols (jerseys, flags, anthems), provided the national federations comply with the regulations.

The European Aquatics Federation reacted to the immediate application of this new statute and, at the end of April, officially requested from World Aquatics a postponement or delay (source in Greek) in its implementation. It argued that it wanted to protect the European summer events and avoid upending their planning, which is why athletes who competed then did so under neutral and independent status.

It was decided that no Russian athlete or team would return with full national symbols before 1 September 2026. After the extension expired, from 1 September, the new European Aquatics framework came into force, under which at youth level Russian athletes and teams compete without any restrictions, while at senior level Russian clubs are allowed to enter European club competitions but their athletes and staff are required, for the duration of the matches, to retain the status of Approved Neutral Athlete.

Sport federations divided

In this way, on Thursday night, Sintez Kazan became the first club in a team sport to play in an official international competition since the start of the war in Ukraine, openly representing Russia.

It was drawn in the group that Apollon Smyrnis is hosting at the Serafeio, and faced Partizan Belgrade, losing 14-13. Over the weekend, it will play German side Duisburg, Italian club Savona and the hosts Apollon Smyrnis.

European federations in football (UEFA), basketball (FIBA), handball (EHF), volleyball (CEV) and ice hockey have not taken similar steps to lift restrictions.

Only last week, CEV decided to allow Russian national teams back into its competitions in both indoor volleyball and beach volleyball, but it did not take a corresponding decision regarding Russian clubs in European tournaments.

"We had been absent from the European stage for a long time and that added an extra burden, a responsibility, because we knew we were the first Russian team in such a long time to represent Russia. Unfortunately, we lost our opener against Partizan, but I believe we have the ability to win the next matches and qualify for the next phase", Kazan goalkeeper Pyotr Fedotov told Euronews.

From the qualifying group being staged in Athens, three of the five participating teams will advance to the next phase. Hosts Apollon Smyrnis have already laid the foundations to be one of them after their emphatic 16-9 victory over Duisburg in the opening game.