IESF holds Extraordinary General Meeting in response to Russian invasion of Ukraine

The International Esports Federation (IESF) held an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) on Monday to vote on measures aimed at sanctioning Russia following the invasion of Ukraine.

The majority of member federations voted against an outright ban on Russian athletes participating at the upcoming world championships, with the IESF reporting that more than 70 percent of member federations voted in favor of Russian athletes competing in some capacity.

Both the Russian Esports Federation and the Ukrainian Esports Federation were present at the Extraordinary General Meeting and were given an opportunity to present their view on the situation according to the IESF.

The IESF Executive Board had met earlier in the year to discuss the participation of Russian athletes in international esports events. However, the IESF Executive Board was unable to take any actions in regards to sanctioning Russia due to a requirement within the IESF Statutes that any sanctions placed on a member federation be approved by the IESF General Assembly.

Hence, the Extraordinary General Meeting was called by the IESF to respond to the current situation. While the majority of member federations voted in favor of Russian athletes participating at the upcoming world championships, the membership of the IESF did vote to impose some alternate sanctions on Russia.

Many of the approved sanctions involve the use or display of the Russian flag or national symbols. Athletes were also prohibited from competing under the Russian flag, or in the name of Russia. Athletes will instead represent “Team IESF,” and compete in the colors and jersey of the IESF.

Along with a ban on Russian flags at IESF events, Russian national symbols, state insignia, military signs, letters, nationalistic quotes, illustrated portraits of people, illustrations, and sign language interpretations associated with the country were banned as well.

Commenting on the meeting and resulting sanctions, IESF President Vlad Marinecsu stated, “today, IESF held an Extraordinary General Meeting, in accordance with the Statutes that have been shaped by our Member Federations, and delivered a democratic decision on the status of the Russian Esports Federation and the participation of athletes from Russia in IESF events.”

“The IESF is committed to promoting peace and development throughout the world’s esports community. In order to reaffirm our support towards the Ukrainian esports Federation, IESF remains committed to supporting the athletes above all and providing all Ukrainian athletes with a direct slot and wildcards for the participation in the 14th WE Championships.”

Marinecsu concluded, “we aim for a safe and supportive environment where they have the tools and resources to perform at their full potential while embodying the values of respect, peace, unity and friendship.”

The duration of the sanctions placed on Russia at the Extraordinary General Meeting remain unclear, with the IESF providing no indication as to whether the sanctions could be further strengthened or loosened based on developments in Ukraine.

The next major gathering of the IESF membership will be at 2022 WE Summit in September, which will be followed by the 2022 WE Championships in Bali, Indonesia in December.