During the women’s World Drafts Championship match between Polish woman Natalia Sadovskaya and Russian woman Tamara Tansykkuzhina, the Russian flag was removed, Sport.ua reported on Tuesday, April 27.
The flag was taken from the playing table by the organizers by order of the President of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Vitold Banka, the report said. Former President of the European Drafts Federation Jacek Pawlicki announced on behalf of the match organizers that, according to the WADA decision, they should remove the flag and the mention of Russia. Otherwise, the agency threatened to expel the World Federation of Drafts (FMJD) from its organization.
During the removal of the flag, the Russian woman was thinking about her move, what happened to her was very surprised. The incident also sparked outrage among Russian Internet users.
On the eve of the Russian ambassador to Poland Sergei Andreev called relations with Poland the worst since the Second World War. He is confident that the Polish side is purposefully leading the case to the destruction of relations, ties and cooperation between Moscow and Warsaw.
On April 15, the Polish Foreign Ministry announced that three Russian diplomats had been declared persona non grata in the country. The reason for this decision was the violation by Russian diplomats of the “conditions of diplomatic status” and the fact that they “acted to the detriment of the republic.” In response, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced the expulsion of five Polish diplomats from the country.