More than 1,000 athletes from 16 European countries were to come to Chisinau for the championship. Among them, more than a hundred kickboxers would represent Russia and Belarus. In March this year WKF signed a strategic partnership agreement with the specialized federation of Russia, which provides, in particular, the performance of Russian athletes with state symbols at all international starts held under the auspices of the federation. The local organizers of the tournament were the Chisinau City Hall and the Garuda Fight Club.
WKF, under the aegis of which the championship was to be held, is not recognized by the International Olympic Committee. The World Association of Kickboxing Organizations (WAKO) has official recognition in this sport. This circumstance was one of the arguments behind the decision of the Ministry of Education and Research (MOE), which is responsible for issuing permits to hold European and World Championships on the territory of Moldova. Minister Dan Perciun called the WKF a “controversial structure” and the reputation of its head – Austrian Friedrich Exenberger – “dubious”, emphasizing that in 2010 he was expelled from the international karate association for fraud.
Meanwhile, the main reason for the decision to cancel the championship was cited as a threat to national security. According to the authorities, in the course of a check conducted by the Information and Security Service, the lists of participants in the delegations “revealed persons with ties to Russian security forces, former military personnel, as well as athletes living in the occupied territories – Donbass and Crimea”. Based on the SIS data, the Border Police banned 19 members of the Russian delegation from entering the territory of Moldova directly at the border. And 176 citizens of Russia, Belarus, Georgia and Azerbaijan were denied boarding flights in the countries of departure. Also 15 underage athletes, who were supposed to take part in the youth tournament, were not allowed to enter the country. Seven young men from Romania, six from Georgia and two from Lithuania could not cross the Moldovan border.
According to the Moldovan authorities, Rustam Alimov, who heads the Garuda fight club, is linked to criminal authority Grigore Karamalac, also known as “Bolgar”. He is on an international wanted list and is accused by authorities of blackmail and attempted murder. Karamalak may be in Russia, where he has supporters. They could be among those included in the delegation to the European Championships.
Questions have also arisen about Ivan Derkachenko, who was appointed official WKF supervisor at the tournament. He heads one of the departments of the Foreign Ministry in unrecognized Transnistria, and his participation in the international tournament on the territory of Moldova caused a contradictory reaction of the authorities.
Rustam Alimov, in an interview with Moldova 1, rejected accusations of inviting persons whose entry into the country is undesirable to the tournament. “Persons from the Transnistrian region were not allowed to participate in the championship. These are false accusations,” said the head of the Garuda fight club.
The Belarusian delegation also attracted the attention of the Moldovan authorities. The list of participants included the name of kickboxer and member of the Belarusian OMON Dmitry Shakut, suspected of involvement in the murder of activist Roman Bondarenko during the protests in Minsk in 2020. He is subject to sanctions imposed by the United States, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia.
The host country of the kickboxing World Cup was determined in April. In addition to Moldova, Italy and Poland competed for the right to host the tournament. WKF favored our country. According to Friedrich Eksenberger, the local organizers agreed with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the lists of participants a month before the tournament and did not receive any objections from the state structures. The WKF President called the decision of the Moldovan authorities, announced two days before the start of the championship, “political and contrary to the fundamental principles of sport, such as neutrality, objectivity and non-discrimination on national grounds”.
The tournament was planned to be held in the capital’s track and field arena. Against the background of the situation surrounding it, the IOI demanded that the management of the venue cancel the contract for the competition and assured it that “persons who pose a threat to the national interests of the Republic of Moldova will not be allowed to participate”. This is the first case in the history of the track and field arena, when its management is demanded to refuse to hold representative international competitions.
The authorities criticized the Chisinau Mayor’s Office for its involvement in the tournament, which MOI dubbed a “pseudo-championship”. Representatives of the PAS faction in the municipal council demanded that the mayor “immediately stop the participation of the mayor’s office in this event.” Mayor Ion Ceban called the accusations against the capital’s administration false and urged not to organize “cheap shows that people no longer believe in”.
The budget of the European Kickboxing Championship is not disclosed, but according to Friedrich Eksenberger, the WKF has taken care of all transportation and hotel expenses. The local organizer in the person of fight club “Garuda” undertook to provide all necessary information support of the event and to bear other expenses related to the stay of foreign athletes.
Due to the impossibility of participation of a significant part of athletes, who are favorites in multiple categories, the WKF decided to cancel the tournament. “We offer our sincere apologies for the insufficient attention to the organization, security and diplomatic support of this event,” the federation said in a press release.
The European Kickboxing Championships have been postponed until 2026, and the country that will host the tournament will be determined at a later date. As Friedrich Exenberger noted, the WKF will more carefully approach the choice of the organizer.
