Finland and Norway plan to bar entry to Russian athletes as long as the war in Ukraine continues

Norway’s Ministry of Justice and Public Security will instruct the Directorate of Immigration and the National Police Directorate to deny entry to Russian and Belarusian athletes traveling to the country for competitions, the government said. The restrictions will also apply to support staff.Norway already has strict visa and entry rules for people from Russia and Belarus. But international sports federations have relaxed their rules, allowing more elite athletes and support staff from the two countries to travel to Norway for competitions. The government intends to keep professional athletes and support staff from these countries out of Norway as long as the war in Ukraine continues.The changes will take effect “soon,” the government said.Finland previously announced tighter entry rules for Russians. Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said that “as long as Russia’s war of aggression continues, Russian athletes have no business being in Finland.” The entry restrictions will also apply to athletes, including those competing as neutrals. Helsinki will host a figure skating Grand Prix event from November 20 to 22, which Russian figure skaters had planned to attend.Countries began imposing restrictions after the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that Russia’s national team should be allowed to return to international ice hockey tournaments. Several countries have already refused to play against Russia or host tournaments if the Russian team is allowed to compete.At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at [email protected].To read Meduza’s exclusive content in English, please subscribe to our newsletter.