Statements from Roko Sikiric at the Championship in Romania

Roko Sikiric made a statement to the press in Romania, where the European Men's Volleyball Championship is held.

Stating that the decision for Russia to return to international competitions was taken by the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) in line with the recommendation of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Sikiric said, "We are a part of the sports structure in which we operate, starting from the IOC, FIVB and CEV. We have legal obligations that we need to implement. That is why we are not discussing whether CEV will re-include Russia. Russia was re-included in international competitions by the FIVB, which made the decision based on the IOC recommendation. As CEV, we are part of the sports structure in which we operate. "We can discuss whether we will implement the charter or not. As you know, this is a process to be discussed, but it will be important at the next board meeting. However, it is important to indicate the structures we belong to and of course we must also respect the national legislation of the countries hosting our events regarding Russia," he said.

Explaining that national teams and clubs are also working on tight match fixtures, Sikiric continued as follows:

"Of course, there are some difficulties that we need to discuss with the federations, athletes, coaches and all stakeholders. In our current system, the season of some clubs ends in May. We are faced with a situation where this ends at the end or beginning of April and they do not start the season before mid-October. This situation causes the clubs to have a 6-month gap and their visibility to interact with their commercial partners and fans decreases. Therefore, this calendar will provide more interaction and visibility."