Shortly before the start of the EM 2021, an ARD journalist's accreditation was withdrawn.
He had previously reported critically about UEFA and Russia.
Cologne - As at the last World Cup in Russia, a German journalist was refused accreditation.
The Russian authorities rejected the application of the ARD journalist Robert Kempe, although the European Football Union (UEFA) had previously confirmed the accreditation.
The reason for this is a "background screening", as he was informed in writing.
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The Baltic city of St. Petersburg is one of the eleven venues for the pan-European football championship *.
EM 2021: ARD journalist is withdrawn from accreditation - "See restriction of freedom of the press"
The reactions from Germany followed promptly. “We see this as a restriction on the freedom of the press that is not acceptable to us,” said WDR editor-in-chief Ellen Ehni. Kempe was "an excellent and innocent journalist," she added and appealed to the authorities. "We call on Russia to provide clarification and to grant our colleague free access to the Russian venues so that he can do his work as a journalist on site." The reporter was involved in a large number of documentaries and magazine articles, under for the sports show or the investigative format Sport inside.
Especially in Kempe's research on the complex connections between the Russian state company Gazprom * and UEFA, Russia could be bothered.
The largest natural gas production company in the world is not only a shareholder in Zenit St. Petersburg, but also one of the sponsors of the European Championship.
"The connection between Gazprom and UEFA are close, in my opinion they go beyond a normal sponsorship relationship," Kempe is quoted in the Sport-inside podcast.
EM 2021: Kempe researched Gazprom connections in UEFA - WDR is examining entry options
Based on his research, Kempe is regarded as an extremely critical observer. In the podcast he explained the numerous connections between the group and UEFA. “The last Russian officials in UEFA all had a Gazprom connection: Sergei Fursenko was with UEFA until the mid-2010s -Executive and director of a Gazprom subsidiary. Then Vitaly Mutko, the Russian sports minister and former president of Zenit St. Petersburg. And now Aleksander Dyukov, who has been a member of the UEFA executive since this year and - surprisingly - is chairman of the board of a Gazprom subsidiary, ”said Kempe, explaining the implications.
The Otto Brenner Prize winner also reported on topics such as the annexation of the Crimea and was part of a team of authors in a revelatory story at the last World Cup.
He and his colleagues revealed that North Korean workers were involved in the construction of Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium - the 2018 World Cup final.
The work of the workers was also heavily criticized by the United Nations.
Accreditation for press representatives at the World Cup simplifies the visa process.
Now the WDR is campaigning for an alternative way to travel to Russia * for its journalists.
(ajr) * Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA