Tobol Kostanaj, a football club from Kazakhstan, faced difficulties in traveling to Prague for their match against FC Viktoria Plzeň. The team had three Russian and one Belarusian players in their squad, none of whom were able to travel with the team to Prague. Alimzhan Kaldyiarov, co-owner of Tobol, stated on Instagram that without these players, the team would not have been able to participate in the match.
According to Deník, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala intervened in the matter and promised an exception for the players. Subsequently, the government approved the issuance of visas for the Tobol players. The government’s decision was based on the fact that the players represent the Kazakhstani club and Kazakhstan, not the Russian Federation or Belarus.
Tobol Kostanaj has Russian goalkeeper Ivan Konovalov, defender Albert Gabarayev, midfielder Ivan Kireyenko, and Belarusian defender Pavel Zabelin in their squad. All three Russian players participated in the previous match against FC Viktoria Plzeň, which Plzeň won 2-1 in Kazakhstan. However, they were not present on the flight to Prague, according to Josef Urban from the Foreign Police.
Kaldyiarov expressed his hope that the situation would be resolved and that the players would be able to travel to Prague through another country. He also mentioned that the team would still play the match even if the players couldn’t participate.
If Tobol had boycotted the match, they would have risked not only a possible forfeit but also exclusion from European competitions for a certain period of time. The team has already played matches in three different countries during this season’s UEFA Europa Conference League qualifiers. Finnish club Honka, Basel in Switzerland, and Derry City in Dublin were the previous opponents, and the Russian and Belarusian players were available and played in those matches.
The government took into consideration the potential disciplinary proceedings and sanctions that UEFA could impose on FC Viktoria Plzeň if visas were not granted to the Tobol players. The government emphasized that denying visas could result in financial losses and damage to the prestige of Czech football.
In June, the Czech government imposed a ban on the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes on Czech territory due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Although Belarus did not actively participate in the war, it allowed Russia to launch attacks from its territory.
The government’s recent statement aligns with the interpretation of the National Sports Agency, which believes that Russian and Belarusian players representing Tobol should be allowed to play in Plzeň without violating the government’s resolution. The agency stated that these players do not represent Russia or Belarus but rather a Kazakhstani club.
The government’s resolution from June only applies to representatives of their respective countries. However, in July, no Russian or Belarusian tennis players participated in the Prague Open after one of them was denied entry into the Czech Republic by the police at a Russian airport. Tennis players from both countries compete under a neutral status without any national symbols.
