Flag Ban in Spain Highlights Kosovo's Sporting Handicap

Spain's decision to ban athletes from Kosovo - which it does not recognise - from competing under their national flag at the 2018 World Karate Championship in Madrid has highlighted the hurdles that athletes from disputed countries face, Besim Hasani, head of the Kosovo Olympic Committee, told BIRN on Tuesday.

"Wherever athletes of Kosovo are not allowed to participate, it damages them directly because they lose the chance to qualify for the World Championships or Olympic Games," Hasani said.

He said that "the International Olympic Committee and other international federations are putting a lot of effort into keeping politics away from sports, and for athletes to be treated equally everywhere," but issues still occur.

The IOC urged international federations on Monday to avoid staging events in Spain unless all athletes are treated equally, after those from Kosovo were banned from displaying their national flag at the World Karate Championship in Madrid on November 6-11.

But Hasani added that the problem "is not only with Kosovo; there are also problems in Russia-Ukraine [sporting] relations, with Israel and Arab states and vice versa".

He continued: "We have the support of these sporting institutions, but problems [still] appear when we have to deal with state protocol, [over matters such as] visa issues".

After Spain forbade display of the Kosovo flag at the event, Kosovo's athletes wore the initials of the Kosovo Karate Federation, KKF, on their shirts. Their names were listed on scoreboards next to the World Karate Federation.

Despite the dispute over the flag, Hasani said he saw Kosovo's participation in the event as a success, with the women's team finishing in seventh place in the competition.

The...