Colombia basketball to take legal action against fake team in Russian tournament

The Colombian Basketball Federation is taking legal action against a team that it says took the Colombian national team’s logo and colors without any sort of authorization while participating in a tournament in Russia. 

The tournament was taking place in the Russian city of Perm and the purported fake team had lost embarrassingly to a local team and to Venezuela in back-to-back games. 

The Russian Friendship Cup is a tournament that includes teams of Russian amateur players that unofficially represent national teams, according to Fox News.

The South American country’s basketball federation said that they would be taking legal action for “for the improper use of our image and logo,” the Associated Press reported. 

“The Colombian Basketball Federation did not grant endorsement to any club to participate in the Russian Friendship Cup,” they said in a statement to the outlet. 

The team had been slated to play Russia on Friday but the game was scrapped. 

“After the first game, we understand that the current level of the Colombian team is lagging behind what was expected, which causes some disappointment for all of us,” Russian federation president Andrei Kirilenko told Match TV, according to the AP. “In this regard, we have already revised the schedule and format of the tournament to ensure a more balanced and competitive competition.”

Kirilenko, a former NBA player, insisted that nothing wrong had been done by the Russians. 

“We would like to emphasize that all our interactions with the Colombian team took place exclusively through official communication channels,” he said. “Our position remains unchanged: all communications and coordination are conducted only through verified and official sources.”