In February of this year the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS)
supported the decision of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) of 6
May 2022 to suspend the membership of the Belarusian Tennis Federation
in the ITF. Thus, the appeal filed by Belarus 20 months ago was
rejected. At a press conference Chairman of the Belarusian Tennis
Federation (BTF) Sergei Rutenko talked about the key events in the
relations between the BTF and the ITF that preceded this verdict.
The
international membership of the Belarusian federation was suspended
exactly two years ago, but frictions between the ITF and the BTF started
even earlier, in the second half of 2020. Then the ITF banned junior
and professional tournaments in Belarus, citing security and safety
reasons. The information about it was based on a report by independent
security consultants, which, according to Sergei Rutenko, turned out to
be an account taken from the internet.
“Hosting tournaments at
home is very important for professional development of local tennis
players as they move on to the senior circuit. At the 2021 ITF General
Conference, I addressed this question to ITF President David Haggerty. I
assured him that security for athletes was our top priority. After the
conference, I sent him and all the board members letters inviting them
to visit Belarus and see for themselves how safe it was here. After all,
we held many competitions under the auspices of the ITF before. We
delivered a top-notch Fed Cup final in 2017. But all our proposals were
rejected.
According to the draw, in 2022 Belarus was supposed to
host the Davis Cup Belarus v Mexico and the Billie Jean King Cup Belarus
v Belgium, but the ITF refused us this right. Alternatively, they
suggested that the Belarusian federation hold the matches on a neutral
ground or give the right to host matches to the opposing teams. The
Mexican federation got the right to host the men’s tie which never took
place. Upon arrival in Mexico, the referees informed the Belarusian
delegation about the decision not to hold the match, after which our
team was awarded a technical defeat. The women’s national team’s tie
against Belgium was supposed to take place in Antalya, but was never
played.
“Before the men’s team left for Mexico, we contacted the
ITF asking whether the match would take place. We were assured that it
would. But the organizers were just waiting for the last Belarusian
tennis player to arrive. Half an hour after his arrival at a hotel, a
press conference was called where the ITF members announced the
cancellation of the match. This behavior in respect of our athletes was
rude and unacceptable.”
After the outbreak of hostilities in
Ukraine, the ITF considered that the Belarusian and Russian federations
seriously damaged the status of tennis as a world sport. On 1 March
2022, the ITF Board of Directors, citing the recommendations of the
International Olympic Committee, suspended the membership of the BTF,
banned our country from participating in all official competitions under
its auspices and from hosting international tournaments, and also
excluded Belarus from all educational projects and programs to support
athletes. The decision was ratified at an extraordinary ITF conference
in Spain on 6 May. Delegates from Belarus, Russia and Ukraine were each
given three minutes to speak.
“As a result, the Ukrainian
representative spoke for 15 minutes, the Russian one for about 10
minutes, and I was interrupted after two and a half minutes. We prepared
our points in advance and sought to lay out the facts. During my speech
I said that such a decision by the ITF opens a Pandora’s box. During my
speech I said that such a decision by the ITF opens a Pandora’s box.
Unfortunately, hostilities are nothing new for our planet, and this
decision makes a precedent. I also asked why the United States and NATO
members did not face consequences for their role in hostilities in
Yugoslavia, Syria, etc. After that, my microphone was turned off. It was
on again after I was asked whether we condemn the actions of our
government in connection with the Ukraine conflict. I refused to answer,
pointing out that the conference was about sport and I had no intention
to talk politics. Subsequently, these words were interpreted as proof
that our federation supported the hostilities. But if we apply the same
logic, we can say that the ITF promotes the war between Palestine and
Israel or U.S. interventions in other countries, because none of us have
heard their condemnation of those conflicts.”
On 26 May 2022,
the Belarusian Tennis Federation filed an appeal with the Court of
Arbitration for Sport (CAS) demanding full restoration of the rights of
the BTF, as well as admission to ITF events using national symbols. In
addition, as temporary measures, our federation suggested allowing the
U14 & U16 teams to participate in the European Summer Cups in order
to have a chance to qualify for the world junior team competitions. We
also suggested allowing the U12 & U18 national teams to hold
tournaments in their home country. The proposal was declined. According
to Sergei Rutenko, the ITF did everything possible to postpone the
hearing date. It responded to all BTF requests only at the end of
October, not at the beginning of July, as originally agreed. As a
result, the online hearing was held almost a year after the appeal was
filed on 17 April 2023.
“On that day, we caught Mr. Haggerty
lying. At the meeting of the Board of Directors, he referred to the
decisions of FIFA and UEFA, saying that our football federation was
allegedly suspended from international tournaments. But this is not
true, because our football teams and clubs were not suspended, more than
that they participate under the national flag and anthem. The only
condition was playing on neutral grounds. He also claimed that most of
members of the global tennis community demanded in writing that our
country be stripped of its membership, but he was able to provide only a
few letters with vague wording. Moreover, he claimed that he discussed
our immediate suspension with President of the Kazakhstan Tennis
Federation Bulat Utemuratov, which also turned out to be a lie. We have
close ties with this federation. Apparently, Haggerty did not know about
it. More than that, Bulat even suggested hosting some tournaments that
Belarus and Russia were supposed to host, and he was ready to cover all
the costs. His proposal was rejected despite his significant services to
tennis as a member of the ITF Board of Directors. Our juniors could
have taken part in these competitions to hone their skills.”
On 9
February 2024, after repeated postponements of the decision, the Court
of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld the ITF decision and rejected the
appeal of the Belarusian Tennis Federation. CAS ruled that Belarus
should not bear expenses for this disciplinary procedure. The amount
previously paid by the BTF (21,000 Swiss francs) must be returned to the
BTF by CAS. However, our federation has to pay the ITF $10,000 to cover
legal fees and other expenses incurred during the arbitration
proceedings.
“Such a verdict goes contrary to legal practice. By
recognizing that the ITF had made a disciplinary decision, CAS should
have ensured that the ITF conducted a proper disciplinary procedure,
i.e. that we were given the opportunity to defend ourselves and the
right to be heard. Instead, CAS decided to apply the principle of
arbitral self-restraint, which implies the ability of a given instance
not to investigate all aspects of a case. In other words, CAS recognized
the importance of protecting the ITF’s independence and autonomy to
govern its sport. They decided to vest all responsibility with the ITF
and shy away from decision making. The damage costs accumulated over the
past two years is already approaching €1 million. This sum is made up
of increased travel expenses. We cannot host tournaments at home.
Neighboring countries have banned us from participating. That means out
athletes have to travel long distances. When we asked the ITF to
consider reimbursement options, we heard nothing in response.”
According
to Sergei Rutenko, many people are mistaken to think that Belarusian
tennis has not suffered much from the restrictions, as Sabalenka and
Azarenka continue to perform. The ITF also assures that their decision
harms only the Belarusian Tennis Federation, and not athletes who
continue participating in individual competitions. The BTF head
emphasized that the ITF does not organize all tennis tournaments, but
only team and junior tournaments, and also the Olympic tournament. All
others are organized by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP)
and the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA). The ATP and WTA immediately
declared the ITF’s decision as absurd and politically biased.
“The
ITF authorizes tournaments of juniors, whose rights have been
infringed. In fact, this is discrimination against Belarusian juniors on
the basis of nationality. The ITF does nothing to remove the split from
the world of tennis. In some countries tennis federations forbid
players from Belarus to take part in their tournaments, but the Board of
Directors disregards this and allows these countries to host events.
Once again I repeat that the main victims of such an illegal decision
are our young athletes. In court, we provided statistical data,
according to which the number of Belarusian athletes in the ranking was
halved. As a result, the harm against our young players was not even
mentioned in the CAS verdict.”
Now, the Belarusian Tennis
Federation is considering the possibility of appealing to the Federal
Supreme Court of Switzerland. The BTF will have 30 days to do so after
the CAS officially announces its decision, which it has not done yet.
According to the BTF, the consideration of its appeal in CAS was an
imitation of arbitration proceedings. Sergei Rutenko is convinced that
this verdict should receive maximum publicity in the media, so that as
many people as possible learned about such injustice.
“When we
said we would publicize the results of the case, the ITF started
threatening us and trying to prohibit us to do so. They require us to
pay fees every year and now they start telling us what to do. We will
not keep silent. We will present all the materials. I am sure that in
the future this will help us to avoid false statements and arguments
when making decisions. We tell the truth, directly point out the
violations, which they are trying to hide. It is only in an open fight
for our rights that we can achieve respect. Otherwise this arrogant
attitude towards us will continue. I can clearly see that the Olympic
movement is degenerating. Neither the IOC, nor the ITF, or CAS pare
doing anything to prevent this. Athletes are only sources of profit for
them. I would like to show society the arrogant face of European
officials, who, despite all the stories about the ideals of democracy
and humanity, shamelessly act this way towards our children and our
country, which has made a great contribution to the development of world
tennis.”
