Bayern Munich forward Anton Gavel has been given permission to play for Germany in international competition despite representing the Slovak Republic.
Gavel, who got his German passport in 2013 and has lived in the country since 2000 will now play for the national side at next month’s Eurobasket, where they are one of the four co-hosts.
But before Gavel requested to be picked by Germany, the Kosice-born player had represented Slovakia in the now defunct Division B Eurobasket competition from 2005 to 2011, as well as the Eurobasket 2013 Qualifying Rounds.
The 30-year-old forward though was accepted by FIBA to switch to the German national side.
Via FIBA:
A player who has played in a main official competition of FIBA (see article 2-1) after having reached his seventeenth (17) birthday may not play for a national team of another country.
However, in exceptional circumstances the Secretary General may authorise such a player to play for the national team of his country of origin if he is ineligible to play for such country according to this article 3-23 and if this is in the interest of the development of basketball in this country. An administrative fee as stipulated in article 3-305 and decided by the Secretary General is payable to FIBA.
Gavel’s saving international grace could be down to the fact that his appearances for Slovakia came in a tournament that is now obsolete and that the Slovakians failure to progress to Eurobasket in Slovenia, two years ago was seen as an oversight.
It could be because Gavel has been living in Germany for 15 years and has been a passport holder for two years, but either way the Bayern Munich veteran can play for Germany at Eurobasket, as they host Group B in Berlin, where Serbia, Spain, Turkey, Italy and Iceland will be the competition.
