CSKA Moscow, one of the biggest basketball clubs in Russia, is taking part in a tournament in the city of Banja Luka along with other major international teams despite being banned by the sport's global governing body from sanctioned competitions over the Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The team, which recently was also suspended for another season from the Euroleague, Europe's premier competition, stood on the court on September 6 while the Russian national anthem was played, before facing off against KK Igokea, a local team in Bosnia-Herzegovina's Serb entity, Republika Srpska, that is marking its 50th anniversary of play.
CSKA won the match 82-66.
The tournament, which includes Partizan Belgrade, Galatasaray from Istanbul, Turk Telecom from Ankara, and Hapoel Jerusalem, was opened by Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik, who is under sanctions from the United States and Britain for "destabilizing corrupt activities" that have threatened the stability of Bosnia.
FIBA, the world's governing body for basketball, announced an indefinite ban on Russia and Belarus, which has aided Moscow in its war against Ukraine, and said in March 2022 that all Russian teams and officials were banned indefinitely from participating in sanctioned events.
In May, it renewed the ban for club competitions in the 2023-24 season, while the Euroleague renewed a similar suspension of Russian teams from its competition for the season. The event in Banja Luka is not a sanctioned FIBA event, though many teams around the world have avoided playing Russian teams because of the bans.
Partizan Belgrade is part of this season's Euroleague, while Turk Telecom is part of the EuroCup competition.
As head of Republika Srpska, the predominantly Serbian entity of Bosnia, Dodik is pursuing increasingly nationalist and secessionist policies while seeking closer ties with Serbia and Russia.