Plushenko may not be allowed to take part in European Figure Skating Championships.
Your post makes no sense.This world ranking thing serves absolutely no purpose. If a federation wants to send a skater to an event they should be able to. Forcing someone like Plushenko to compete in some small event could actually prevent another skater on the edge from being able to qualify for international events. Furthermore, from an event marketing standpoint, Euros would benefit tremendously from Plushenko's presence, yet he is going to compete in some event that probably won't be televised. It's a pity that the sport enforces all these technicalities (ranking, non-ISU event prohibition, etc) that result in all the best skaters being chased away from eligible competition.
I think Plushy's status in the sport is different from Lysacek's, but I just don't know how much of a difference his going to Euros (or not) would have on the bottom line, since TV deals are already in place and I am not certain that the difference in ticket sales would be that considerable one way or another. Are there many fans who will only go to Euros if Plushenko's participation is confirmed? Are ticket revenues greatly dependent on this? I can't imagine that's the case, and if it is, that's not a very sound business plan. Have ticket sales been sluggish? They weren't last year, despite Bern being an expensive (and cold!!!) venue. If a lot of tickets remain available - is Plushenko specifically a huge attraction to casual fans in the UK, who might be last-minute ticket buyers? I'm just not sure there is any specific skater who would be a major draw for Euros in the UK and have a noticeable effect on the success of the event from a marketing perspective, unless it's someone who's been on Dancing on Ice . In terms of media coverage, it's Euros, not a senior B. There will be coverage no matter what happens.I agree Buttercup with what you say except for the Lysacek comparisson part
The ISU has agreed to let Plushenko participate in Europeans according to this Russian article:
http://sport.ria.ru/figure_skating/20111230/530029661.html
I, too, wish I could read Russian. It is a slippery slope to set aside , for an exception individual, qualifying rules that apply to everyone.