Sports journalists condemns top Ukrainian handball officials’ over alleged disturbing threats to press freedom
LAUSANNE, December 17, 2024 – We received a letter from the President of the Ukrainian Sports Press Association, Oleksandr Hlyvynskyi, and we are veryworried because what happened shows very clearly that the top officials of the Ukrainian Handball Federation do not accept at all the freedom of the journalist to report the real situation in the sport.
Criticism is not a crime and in this case our colleague has only made a photo of the situation in the team. We cannot accept that the President and the Secretary General of that Federation have made threats against our colleague and we protest very strongly against this bad attitude that cannot have space in sports. We are on the side of Igor Grachov, who has honestly done his work.
Below is the letter received from the President of the Ukrainian Sports Press Association.
Dear Colleagues,
I am writing to you regarding a dangerous situation for a journalist that occurred at the European Women’s Handball Championship, which is taking place in three European countries – Austria, Hungary and Switzerland. After one of the matches of the tournament – Germany – Ukraine, which took place on November 29 in Innsbruck (Austria), one of the officials of the Ukrainian Handball Federation – Secretary General Oleksandr Hladun, approached a sports journalist, a member of the AIPS, Igor Grachov, in the mixed zone and told him: “Get out of here, or I’ll kick you out myself.”
Due to the intervention of representatives of the European Handball Federation who were nearby, this did not happen, but, leaving, the Secretary General of the Ukrainian Handball Federation Oleksandr Hladun told Igor Grachov: “Prepare for the worst.” Igor told me that the Ukrainian Handball Federation was not satisfied with his coverage of their activities and a year ago, at the World Handball Championship, forbade the players of the Ukrainian national team to talk to him, threatening to expel them from the team. And, interestingly, four players were expelled from the team after that – those who communicated with him.
I would like to add that after the incident I called by phone the mentioned Secretary General of the Ukrainian Handball Federation Oleksandr Hladun and asked him “Did you really tell the journalist to leave or else you throw him out of the mixed zone?” He answered “Yes”. To my question “Why did you do it?” He said: “This journalist insults girls in articles and in general, in order not to distract the team at the championship, it is better to write about the team before and after the championship, but not during it.”
To my remark about the inadmissibility of threats against journalists Oleksandr Hladun and the President of the Handball Federation of Ukraine Andriy Melnyk, speaking on speakerphone, said that dialogue would not work and they would do whatever they considered necessary for the team.
The situation is very alarming, the leaders of the Handball Federation of Ukraine have a distorted view of the journalist’s job and believe that journalists should write about handball “without distorting the facts,” which, in other words, means “coordinating what is written with them.”
I ask you to consider this case and take measures that will help avoid a threat to the life and health of the journalist.
