Lebanese Chess Team Boycotts Morocco Championship
Summary
In r/Lebanon, this announcement covers visa refusals that kept nearly half of Lebanon’s delegation from the Arab age categories chess championship in Morocco. The Lebanese Chess Federation chose to boycott and may seek reimbursement and compensation through FIDE and the Arab Chess Federation, raising concerns about politics affecting young athletes.
Shame on this weak government
What was supposed to be national solidarity and companionship turned into a saddening youth backstabbing catastrophe and tragedy…
The arab age categories chess championship is currently being held in Morocco. According to FIDE (Fédération Internationale des Échecs), the host federation must be able to provide visas to all the participating players. In the most unsportsmanlike manner, the Moroccan embassy turned away almost half the Lebanese delegation, refusing to issue visas to all the Shia athletes and some from other sects, expressing « you know the reason why you were rejected »
After heavy pressuring from many prominent chess figures, the Lebanese Chess Federation decided to boycott the championship and (hopefully) is engaging in formal complaints at FIDE and ACF (Arab Chess Federation) in order to retrieve costs of plane tickets and hotel bookings for the accepted players, as well as compensation for not participating.
Lebanon has already won many times a lot of titles in this championship, and it truly is a shame that politics are getting in the way of children and youth towards sports excellence. More revolting however, is the incompetence of our government in handling this situation.
Post Author: /u/KarpovSimp
Content Warning: None
