Ukrainians are not allowed to play: the tennis association does not want an exception for refugees
Created: 04/16/2022, 11:37 am
By: Laura May
He can forget the war on the tennis court: Yelisei Avtanonov fled from Ukraine.
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Tennis player Yelisei Avtamonov managed to flee Ukraine - now the Bavarian Tennis Association is making it difficult for him to arrive in Germany.
Thyrnau – 21-year-old tennis player Yelisei Avtamonov from Kyiv was lucky to escape from Ukraine.
His family managed to get him out of the country before he could be drafted into military service.
Yelisei fled with his mother, entered Germany on March 20, 2022 and found a new home in Thyrnau (Passau district).
Yelisei Avtamonov was considered a promising tennis talent in Ukraine.
TC Thyrnau-Kellberg contacted the player immediately after his arrival in Lower Bavaria and immediately integrated him into team training.
Ukraine refugee: Tennis gives 21-year-old support – but now he is not allowed to play in the tournament
The club then tried to register Yelisei as a player for the upcoming league round in summer 2022.
This application was rejected by the BTV (Bavarian Tennis Association), although the game manager responsible for the league had initially verbally signaled his approval.
"The application was rejected for reasons of equality," says TC youth director Michael Stefan.
The arguments formulated by the association in the person of Harald Heger (Head of Sport at BTV) for refusing the late registration are formally correct, but from a human point of view and in the current situation they are absolutely incomprehensible.
"It's only a few days late," says Stefan, "and the season doesn't start until the end of May."
Due to the competition conditions, subsequent registration is not possible, says the President of BTV, Hemut Schmidbauer.
"That also applies to Bavarian players." He fears that a subsequent report from Avtamonov could blow up in his ears in the future and that others would also want special treatment.
"Where do you start the exception and where does the exception end?" He sees no reason for an exception in flight and trauma.
Tennis player Yelisei Avtamonov escapes from Ukraine - and misses the registration deadline for the Bavarian tennis league.
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Rejection of Ukrainian tennis players: "Incomprehensible that BTV hides behind paragraphs"
The Lower Bavarian tennis club TC Thyrnau-Kellberg is happy about newcomer Yelisei Avtamonov and wants to fully integrate him right away.
"Yelisei's ability to integrate into our club, namely active participation in team operations and the associated social participation, is denied him by BTV," says a press release.
The justification given by the association for the refusal, that late registrations of players are also not allowed, for example due to moving or for professional reasons, does not make much sense here, since the player in question had to flee from war and destruction in his homeland.
This can hardly be compared with a change of location and club for professional reasons, the club said.
You can read all further information on the Ukraine war and its effects in Bavaria here on our Ukraine refugees topic page.
Ukraine: Tennis player Yelisei Avtamonov is an asset both athletically and personally
In the opinion of youth manager Stefan, the subsequent registration of Avtamonov for the points game round is quite feasible for the association.
"I can't imagine that happening that often," he says.
In any case, not many men can leave Ukraine.
Yelisei's acceptance is important to him personally, because the 21-year-old has grown dear to everyone in his short time at the club.
"He's a great asset, both athletically and personally."
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