A number of European teams were not allowed to spar with Russian national handball teams

A number of European national teams have been banned from sparring with Russian national handball teams. This was reported by the Russian Handball Federation (RGF) on January 13.

"Agreements were reached to hold sparring games with a number of European national teams in the upcoming season, but at the last moment a refusal was received," RIA Novosti quoted the handball federation as saying.

It is reported that the bans came from the European Handball Federation and the International Handball Federation.

Earlier, on December 2, the president of the Russian Football Union (RFU) Alexander Dyukov said that Russian soccer clubs and national teams in 2025 will be allowed to international tournaments. The RFU president also noted that the change in attitude towards Russian clubs can be seen, among other things, by the number of national teams that are ready to come to Russia in 2025 to play matches.