MIAMI, United States. — The Cuban Baseball Federation (FCB) denounced an alleged “discriminatory treatment” towards Cuban baseball players who will participate in the fifth World Classic and who have permanent residence in the United States.
In the first instance, the entity points out that “the license granted by the United States Government to the organizers of the V World Baseball Classic for athletes of Cuban origin, residing in that country, to join the Cuba team in this important event, prohibits those athletes, whether they are from MLB or not, to travel to Cuba to participate in any action related to the contest”.
According to the FCB, the decision was informed by the organizers of the event, which will take place in various venues from March 8 to 21, 2023.
“This provision includes not only the current phase of training that takes place in the Latinoamericano stadium, but also the moment after the competition, which means that they could not even celebrate together with their teammates and the fans, in the event that our team won the V Clásico”, pointed out the FCB in a declaration disseminated by official Cuban media.
The statement rejects the fact that the bigleaguers Cubans and US residents cannot participate with the Cuban team in the training games prior to the tournament.
“Another restriction, valid for all players on the MLB circuit, regardless of the country they play with, is that none of the athletes subject to the license may participate in the pre-competition training and preparation games that the Cuban team plans to develop. abroad. They will only be able to join the team on March 3, just five days before the start of the contest.
The license granted by the US government indicates that, in the specific case of Cuba, the restriction extends to all athletes with legal residence in the United States, even if they do not belong to MLB organizations.
“The FCB firmly denounces this discriminatory treatment to which Cuban baseball players and the national team are subjected, victims of irrational and politically motivated bans, consistent with the hostile policy of the United States against Cuba and alien to the essence of sport and its enjoyment. healthy and constructive,” the statement said.
In none of the previous editions of the World Baseball Classic (2006, 2009, 2013 and 2017) has the Cuban team been represented by Major League players, so the possible inclusion of some of these in the team’s final roster would mark a point a turning point in the sports policy of the island’s regime, which for decades remained reluctant to summon players from the MLB circuit.
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