Kosovo Karate Team Plans Complaint Over Serbia Ban

Kosovo's karate team says it will complain to the IOC over the ban on the team entering Serbia to compete in the European Karate Championship in Novi Sad, northern Serbia, on May 10-13.

The retaliatory move came days after the Football Federation of Kosovo refused to allow Serbia's Red Star to play a match in the mainly ethnic Serbian town of Gracanica on May 9.

The President of the Karate Federation, Ismet Krasniqi, told BIRN on Thursday that a letter of complaint would be sent to international sporting authorities explaining the situation.

"We are preparing a complaint and I expect it will be sent no later than tomorrow. It's up to the IOC to decide the next steps. I cannot prejudge this," Krasniqi said.

He said Federation officials and the athletes themselves were deeply disappointed about their inability to travel to and compete in Novi Sad.

"The kids are very disappointed because they prepared for this competition… Sport is our goal, there was no political aim at all from our side," Krasniqi told BIRN.

He said the Kosovo team had expected to collect up to five medals in the competition.

Kosovo proclaimed independence from Serbia in 2008, having broken away in 1999 as a result of NATO's air war on Serbia.

Most Western countries, including the US, recognised Kosovo long ago, but its statehood is still bitterly contested Serbia and Russia, among others.

As a result, Serbia remains reluctant to allow any sporting engagements with Kosovo that might signal de facto recognition of Kosovo as a state.

"I think the problem with Serbia was that they could not face the Kosovo flag being raised whenever any Kosovo karate kid won a medal. I am sure we would have won four or five medals, including a gold, if we'd...