Sports competitions are even banned for Crimean Tatars in Crimea

On Saturday, September 16, 2017, a police obstructed the 1st football tournament «Altın Tamga» (Golden Tamga) football club in Krestyanovka village, Crimea.

A reason of game termination was its staging in the name of the national Crimean Tatar flag.

The website «15 minutes» talked to «Altın Tamga» FC organizer Enver Emirasanov. It turned out that the Crimean Tatars had been trying since March to register their sports club to freely conduct competitions, but they were repeatedly denied it. According to the organizer Enver Emirasanov, after repeated appeals to the Simferopol district administration, to the Crimean football federation they  received refusals, at last the school leadership of Pervomaiskiy district offered Crimean Tatars an alternative as to hold a competition in Krestyanovka village.

«We agreed and immediately notified the village head. She agreed as it is not a political event. On September 16 we arrived and started our football tournament”.

However, on that day organizers began to receive calls from the police and district administration to cease a football match.

«At 11 a.m. a police squad came, they were about 20-30. They photographed all cars and people and demanded to stop a game. There hung our flag, and I explained them that this was a national flag. They demanded to take it off and then keep playing. We said that if we had to remove the flag, then we would terminate the tournament. I ordered to stop the game», Enver said.

Crimean Tatars’ attempt to hold a competition in the name of the Crimean Tatar flag in Crimea turned into a showdown with police. After the incident, the village head Elena Stelmakh, a school representative where the competition was attempted, and the tournament organizer wrote the interpretative notes. In addition, Emirasanov is now summoned to the Pervomayskiy district police office.

To remind some facts, a football match was obstructed after police arrival on Saturday, September 16, 2017, in Krestyanovka village in Crimea. They demanded to cease the competition, explaining their decision as non-confirmed meeting. Police officers also demanded to remove the Crimean Tatar flag, which was installed on a football field by organizers.