The government of Hungary denied South Ossetian athletes visas so that the delegation of our Republic couldn't participate in the ConIFA European Football Cup that would take place in Hungary. Definitely this decision was met with indignation in the Republic.

Because of pressure from Georgia the high-level refusal given to South Ossetia football team resembles blackmail. Organizers of the Cup reported that police forces can be used to South Ossetian participants provided they arrive to Debrecen despite everything. Such position of the Hungarian authorities causes, at least, bewilderment and rejection.

Sport is a feast of life out of policy, promoting unification and binding friendly ties between people from different countries, creating better world, establish international trust and goodwill. They shouldn't mix policy and sport! Let politicians deal in politics, and athletes do sport.

However, sport becomes a factor of political influence and political ambitions today. The odious decision made by the government of Hungary is taken as an act of political pressure in the Republic of South Ossetia. It discords sharply with European values and norms of international law. As for the attempts to use sport as a political tool for discriminating citizens of the Republic of South Ossetia, they do not do credit to the state considering itself a democratic country.