The deputy of the State Duma urged not to condemn the football player Khaykin for changing citizenship

On October 13, State Duma deputy Irina Rodnina urged not to condemn goalkeeper Nikita Khaykin for wanting to play for the Norwegian national football team.

Earlier, information spread in the media that Khaykin renounced Russian sports citizenship and plans to play for the Norwegian national team.

"Khaykin renounced his Russian citizenship. And what now? Do we have so few people who change their citizenship for various reasons? <...> How can we judge?" — she said in a conversation with Metaratings.

According to her, it is necessary to be more objective towards athletes, because they should not be deprived of the rights that all citizens of the country have.

"Why should an athlete be deprived of the right that everyone else in the country has? This practice (changing citizenship for the sake of playing for a specific national team. — Ed.) it often occurs," she stressed.

Goalkeeper of the Norwegian Bud Glimt Haikin is the main goalkeeper of the team, with which he became the Norwegian champion four times.

Honored USSR figure Skating coach Tatiana Tarasova spoke on September 26 about Russian figure skaters who changed their citizenship, noting that they are called "idiots" by traitors. She believes that there is nothing wrong with changing your citizenship in order to participate in world competitions. Such athletes have been well prepared and trained since childhood, but they cannot enter world competitions because of other more capable and worthy skaters.

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