On Sunday, Portimão hosted the first round of the European Karting Championship, which was won by Russian driver Artem Severyukhin, who drives under an Italian license. On the podium at the award ceremony, a 15-year-old resident of the Sverdlovsk region showed a gesture reminiscent of a Nazi salute.
The response followed quickly. On Monday, the FIA released a brief statement announcing the launch of an “immediate inquiry into the unacceptable behavior of Artem Severyukhin at the award ceremony for the first round of the European Karting Championship”.
The National Italian Automobile Club demanded that Severyukhin take away his racing license. Swedish team Ward Racing, for which the rider played, announced an early contract termination and apologized to anyone who was offended or hurt by the rider’s gesture.
The Russian Automobile Federation (RAF) called any expression of “fascism and Nazism in Russian motorsport and among Russian athletes” unacceptable.
“The Russian Automobile Federation is aware of what happened on Sunday, April 10, during the award ceremony for the first round of the European Karting Championship in Portugal, when Russian athlete Artem Severyukhin, who competed under an Italian license and for the Swedish team , made a gesture that some considered a “Roman salute”, the RAF said in a statement. – At present, the Russian Automobile Federation is clarifying the circumstances of the incident and the act of the athlete, as well as analyzing the comments of the parties in this regard.
The Russian Automobile Federation informs that Artem Severyukhin has been discharged from the RAF and has competed in the European Championship under an Italian license. That is why Artem has the Italian flag on the protocol and the Italian national anthem sounded on the podium.
We also report that we find any, even accidental, expression of fascism and Nazism in Russian motorsport and among Russian athletes unacceptable.
Our further comments on how the incident will be looked at and what measures will be applied to the athlete will follow later, after the RAF Sports Council meeting.”
Later, Artem Severyukhin recorded a video message apologizing for his gesture on stage. The Russian rider risks a lifelong disqualification.
Source: F1 News
I’m Todderic Kirkman, a journalist and author for athletistic. I specialize in covering all news related to sports, ranging from basketball to football and everything in between. With over 10 years of experience in the industry, I have become an invaluable asset to my team. My ambition is to bring the most up-to-date information on sports topics around the world.
