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Formula One is going to Azerbaijan in 2016. The country’s international sport profile is small, which made it a big deal when it hosted the first European Games this year with reports about press freedom issues and media visa denials appearing on the news feed, sports opinion website The Roar writes .

At the Hungarian Grand Prix, Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost was asked for his view on the inaugural race in Baku and whether it was right for his sport to set up there. “[It is] absolutely correct,” he said confidently, according to the Roar.
When asked about the possibility of Formula One journalists being denied visas to cover the sport, he said, “To be honest, I don’t care about this. It’s your problem how you get the visa.”

The Roar points that, for sure, as a team principal it is not Tost’s job to worry about press visas – but he being a public representative of the sport, his airy dismissal of the entire subject is questionable. It must not be forgotten that the press – and a healthy and fully functioning press at that – is integral to the sport. To disregard the media – as it would be to disregard marshals, stewards, race control, the FIA (International Automobile Federation), event promoters, the fans, or any other non-racing personnel that constitute the sport – is enormous folly and represents a gross misunderstanding of how it is the sport ticks as a whole, The Roar stresses.

Freedom of the press is something sport will have to face sooner rather than later. “Burying its head in the sand, as Franz Tost’s response to the issue suggests is the case, does nothing to help the sport or its international standing and image,” the website highlights.

On 12-28 June, Baku hosted the first European Games under the auspices of the European Olympic Committee. The event became a serious headache for the locals because of numerous bans and property demolitions. The preparatory works for the Games were accompanied by crackdowns and brutal repressions against dissent.

Related:
International rights groups condemn Azerbaijani authorities barring foreign journalists’ entry 
Media reports: International press coverage of European Games focuses primarily on human-rights violations in Azerbaijan