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They may not call themselves Russia and wave their own flag or listen to their own national anthem, but Russian players will be able to participate in the Handball World Championships in Egypt in January, Handbollskanalen writes.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport Cas reduced the sentence to a two-year suspension on December 17, but ruled that Russia should be excluded from international championships such as the Olympics and the World Cup due to repeated state-sponsored doping.
But there is a way out for the Russians. Russian athletes who can show that they have not been part of the doping culture can present themselves as neutral assets, as the Russian ice hockey team had to do at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.
Following an agreement between the International Handball Federation, the International Olympic Committee and the Russian Olympic Committee, it is clear that Russia will be able to send its team. The message arrived on Christmas day.
But it will not be called Russia, but the “team of the Russian Handball Federation” and the team should not have Russia written on their uniforms either. Instead, there will be “active neutral” on the shirts.
Russia will play in the same group as Belarus, Slovenia and South Korea in the World Cup, which begins on January 13.
Sweden can face the Russian team in the intermediate round if they advance from the group stage. Sweden has Egypt, the Czech Republic and Chile in its group.
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