London (agencies)
British Home Secretary Priti Patel withdrew visas from members of the Belarus national basketball team two days before the match that was scheduled to be played against England in Newcastle.
“The UK will not welcome national teams involved in the unprovoked and unlawful attack on Ukraine,” the British minister wrote on Twitter.
It is noteworthy that Belarus is one of Russia’s closest allies in its attack on Ukraine.
The English national basketball team was originally scheduled to arrive in Belarus for the first leg of the World Cup qualifiers yesterday, with the return match to be held in Newcastle on Monday.
However, the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) decided to postpone the two matches indefinitely due to security concerns related to the war in Ukraine.