A grand scandal is about to shake the international volleyball scene, after the Cuban Volleyball Federation failed to secure visas for most of its men's squad before the second tournament of the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) regular season in Belgrade.

The problem was first announced by the X page @CubanSpike, which reported that only 6 players and one analyst arrived in Serbia, while 8 players, including stars Lopez, Yant, and Concepcion, are still blocked in Cuba. If they do manage to travel at the last minute, their arrival will be less than 15 hours before the match against Germany.

"A complete lack of respect for a team that deserves much more... Cuba will almost certainly forfeit for the first time in VNL history. Fines are expected." - wrote @CubanSpike.

🚨 Jakub Balcerzak also joins in

The scandal received international attention after the popular Polish volleyball blogger Jakub Balcerzak also commented on the situation on his X profile:

❗️*"The Cuban national team is having huge problems traveling to Belgrade for the second tournament of the Nations League regular season... 🇨🇺
Even a forfeit (!) is possible in the first match involving the Cuban team in Belgrade."* ❗️

His post only reinforced the seriousness of the situation and criticized the incompetence of the Cuban Federation, which clearly failed to do its basic organizational work.

🛫 Where is the leadership?

Additional tension was caused by the fact that Ariel Sainz, an influential NORCECA representative and former head of Cuban volleyball, is already in Puerto Rico. According to information from @CubanSpike, he spends more time outside Cuba and also has Dominican citizenship – a fact that casts doubt on his commitment to Cuban sport.

According to a simulation shared by the same source, the cost of 17 round-trip tickets from Havana to San Juan is about $18,870, not $30,000, as Sainz claims.

Photos:volleyballworld.com