If you won't let Russian athletes participate, then don't hold the competition at all!
Estonia has lost the hosting rights for the 2027 European Air Rifle Shooting Championships after refusing to allow athletes from Russia, Belarus, and neutral status participants.
On July 6, 2026, the European Shooting Confederation (ESC) officially announced: Estonia's capital city, Tallinn, has been stripped of its right to host the 2027 European Air Rifle Shooting Championships, with the event now relocated to Granada, Spain.
The International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) and the European Shooting Confederation have both established rules permitting athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete as individual neutral athletes—without national flags or anthems—in Olympic qualification events.
The European Shooting Confederation requires host nations to provide written guarantees ensuring visas are issued and entry permitted for eligible neutral athletes.
The Estonian government, due to geopolitical considerations, explicitly refused to issue visas to athletes from Russia and Belarus, thus failing to meet this mandatory requirement for hosting the event.
This European Championship is a crucial qualifying event for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and the 2027 European Games. The European Shooting Confederation emphasized:
All qualified athletes must be guaranteed equal participation rights; no athlete should be deprived of an Olympic qualification opportunity simply because of a host nation’s nationality-based policies. Therefore, Estonia’s hosting rights were revoked.
This is not the first time Estonia has lost international event hosting rights over similar issues:
In January 2026, the International Fencing Federation canceled Tallinn’s hosting rights for the European Fencing Championships, relocating the event to France.
At that time, Estonia also refused to issue visas to neutral fencing athletes from Russia and Belarus and declined to provide any commitment guaranteeing their participation.
The Estonian government maintains its national security and diplomatic stance, unwilling to open entry channels for athletes from Russia and Belarus—even at the cost of economic and sporting losses from losing hosting rights.
Russia and Belarus criticize Baltic states for politicizing sports, arguing that these countries artificially create barriers to participation; however, they acknowledge the ISSF’s neutral athlete competition framework.
Ukraine publicly supports Estonia and other nations in restricting Russian athletes, claiming that Russian athletes serve as tools for Russian propaganda and that multiple countries' decisions to exclude them are reasonable.
Losing out on a continental championship means Estonia will miss out on revenue from tourism, venue operations, and event-related services, while also suffering reduced visibility for domestic shooting sports and diminished opportunities for international exchange.
Sigh——what were they thinking?
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1870015675804932/
Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author.