MOSCOW, December 10. /TASS/. At its congress in Kuala Lumpur the Board of the International Esports Federation (IESF) turned down a proposal to suspend the membership of the Russian Esports Federation (RESF), Advisor to the President of the Russian Esports Federation Konstantin Surkont told TASS.

The IESF congress took place on December 6.

"The Russian delegation paid special attention to the outgoing board’s proposal to ratify the so-called "suspension of the membership of the Russian Esports Federation"," Surkont said. "Under the current charter, the decision to suspend the membership falls within the competence of the relevant membership committee and, in this wording, does not require approval by the congress, and no formal decision to suspend the federation’s membership has previously been made."

"The Russian Esports Federation approached the IESF leadership in advance with a request to remove this topic from the agenda as being contrary to the charter logic. It then conveyed its position to all congress delegates, urging them not to support the attempt to retroactively make a non-existent "suspension" appear to be a congress decision. As a result, some delegates boycotted the vote, others voted against it, and the proposal failed to get the required number of votes, which was an important signal in favor of a more balanced and legally correct approach to the status of RESF," he added.

Surkont also spoke about his communication with other representatives during the congress. "At the congress, representatives of RESF consistently reminded everyone that no legitimate decisions to suspend the RESF membership were made neither in 2024 nor in 2025, and that restrictions on Russian e-athletes’ participation in IESF events are based not on charter provisions, but on decisions made by individual officials," Surkont noted. "Claims that e-athletes can allegedly compete under the national flag and to the tune of the national anthem after the non-ratification of the "suspension" are not yet supported by either texts of decisions or charter provisions, which requires further legal review and official clarification."

"At the same time, the very fact of a broad discussion around the RESF status demonstrates that the issue is not being hushed up and is still in the spotlight of the international community. For the federation, it is an opportunity to consistently promote its legal position and seek to fix it in official IESF documents, which, in the near future, will create the basis for the restoration of full participation of Russian national teams in major global competitions," he concluded.