President of the International Boxing Association (IBA) Umar Kremlev urged the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to rescind previous recommendations to federations and give the green light to the performance of all athletes on international departures.
In October, the IBA Board of Directors voted to admit boxers from Russia and Belarus to competitions under the organization’s auspices with the decision taking effect immediately. The boxers will perform under the national flag and with the national anthem.
“The IBA has taken the first step towards equality of opportunity and fairness. The IBA will continue to do everything for the good of its athletes and coaches, we must create conditions, not make them worse. Again, I mean sport is out of politics. We must have nothing to do with the games of politicians. The IOC needs to rethink its approach to all athletes. The decision to exclude some of them on a national basis is contrary to the principles of the Olympic movement, it is detrimental to all sports.
I urge the IOC to open a window for athletes to continue to compete and urge them to change the policy that results in their suspension. I want to appeal to the entire international sporting world: let all athletes compete. They are not political tools, but they suffer from political decisions. They don’t deserve to be treated so badly by the entire sports community.
Politicians do their job to promote their interests, and we must do our job to keep our athletes safe. The sports world is blocked by politicians and loses its autonomy. There should be no political games behind the athletes’ backs. It is dangerous for the future of the sport. The IOC must rectify the situation immediately. All athletes must be given the green light, because they are not guilty of anything,” the IBA press service quoted the Kremlin as saying.
At the end of February, the IOC Executive Board recommended to the international federations not to allow Russians and Belarusians to participate in the competitions because of the events in Ukraine. At the end of September, the head of the IOC, Thomas Bach, declared that the Russian athletes who had moved away from the special operation should be able to participate in international competitions in a neutral status.
Source : MatchTV
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