President of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) Stanislav Pozdnyakov believes the International Automobile Federation (FIA) violates the athlete equality rule, “slipping a piece of paper” condemning Russia, calling such actions unacceptable.
Earlier it was reported that to be admitted to the Dakar Rally marathon, runners had to sign a statement condemning the Russian special operation in Ukraine.
— Pilot Sergey Karyakin is not authorized to take part in the Dakar, which obliges him to sign a paper condemning Russia. How do you feel about this?
– Of course, we treat this situation with condemnation and rejection. The fundamental principle of international competitions is equality of conditions for all athletes. In this sense, the motorsport federation, by slipping a piece of paper, violates these rules. We consider this unacceptable. And this is the first time that we are confronted with such a situation. The international judo and sambo federations, for example, have never made such demands,” Pozdnyakov said.
– At the international level, are they attentive to our internal events that we are currently organizing?
– Without a doubt. They are seen by our colleagues abroad. We are closely watched. They realize and recognize the success of the same Spartakiad.
We are now witnessing an international thaw in relations. The discourse has radically changed. Now we are talking about the fact that they want to protect Russian and Belarusian athletes from the negative impact on international competitions. In other words, the tone of the collective West is changing.
And I clearly see that the desire of a limited number of countries to influence the whole political movement – it has collapsed. NOCs from different countries interact with us. Diplomacy loves silence, but such work is in progress and time is working for us. Everyone sees that the Olympic movement is now on the wrong track.
A number of events are taking place in Moscow as part of an expanded meeting of the ROC Athletes’ Commission, which is attended by leaders and top athletes from all sports. The members of the NOC Athletes’ Commission also take part in the meetings.
Source : MatchTV
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