Minister of Youth and Sports in the caretaker government, George Kallas, confirmed his commitment to developing and activating sports. He added in a tweet via his Twitter account: "I spare no effort as Minister of Youth and Sports to find a legal exit for naturalizing a foreign player to assist our beloved national team, knowing that the naturalization decree falls under the powers closely associated with the President of the Republic." Media sources close to Prime Minister Najib Mikati affirmed the minister's statement and considered it, via the website "Wardna," to represent the government's stance, stating that Prime Minister Mikati cannot allow himself to exceed such powers that belong solely to the President of the Republic. Thus, there will be no naturalization for any player without the presence of a President.
Kallas’s tweet followed remarks by the Secretary-General of the Basketball Federation, Charbel Rizk, who held the Minister of Youth and Sports responsible for the failure to naturalize a player in preparation for his participation with the Lebanese national team in the World Cup, attributing irrelevant implications to the entire issue. A source in the Ministry of Youth and Sports told "Al Jadeed" that Rizk's comments reflect an apparent ignorance of constitutional mechanisms and a misunderstanding of the matter related to powers closely associated with the presidency exclusively, reflecting in its essence backgrounds that are not innocent.
The Ministry of Youth and Sports expressed regret two days ago for the repeated statements and insinuations regarding the naturalization issue, questioning their underlying and apparent goals, and clarified the following points:
- The natural legal mechanism for any naturalization process begins with a request from the relevant federation to the Ministry of Youth and Sports, which forwards it with a recommendation to the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities, and then to the presidency of the government, which sends the request to the presidency of the republic.
- The power of naturalization is one of the "powers closely associated" with the presidency of the republic, similar to granting medals, receiving credentials, approving ambassadors, and granting special pardons.
- The presidential vacancy has left the adopted mechanisms in an abnormal situation, and it is solely up to the presidency of the government to determine the necessity and urgency of presenting an issue considered under the president's powers to the Council of Ministers for the necessary actions to be taken.
- Additionally, the Ministry of Youth and Sports has not received any verbal or written request from the Lebanese Basketball Federation for the naturalization of a player, nor has it received any communication of any kind in this regard, and it has not neglected in the past to fulfill its duties with the federation in similar matters and other administrative issues concerning passports and more.
The Lebanese Basketball Federation had reached an agreement with player Omri Spellman to have him naturalized to represent Lebanon, yet no positive resolution has been reached regarding his naturalization.
