“There is no sport outside of politics”
Former football player and ex-coach of the Ukrainian national football team Andriy Shevchenko called on the IOC to prevent Russians and Belarusians from participating in international competitions until the end of the war in Ukraine.
“There is no sport outside of politics. Sports competitions of the level of the Olympics are an opportunity to broadcast any message to all people on earth at once. And if athletes from Russia or Belarus enter the arena with or without flags, this message from the Olympic Committee is unequivocal for the whole world – the war is over, you can forgive everything and forget everything.”
“But the war is not over. Every day it destroys our cities, cripples the childhood of our children and takes the lives of the best people. The world must remember this, the world must know that the struggle for peace and freedom continues. I call on the IOC to keep Russian and Belarusian athletes out of competition until the war in Ukraine is over and to strongly condemn Russian aggression.”
The IOC is ready to consider the possibility of admitting athletes from Russia and Belarus to international competitions. At the same time, everyone who wishes will be required to act in a neutral status. Also, athletes should not support the war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine and pass a mandatory doping test.
The NOC of Ukraine will hold an online conference on February 3. During the meeting, the issue of a possible boycott by Ukraine of the 2024 Olympic Games will be discussed, to which representatives of the Russian Federation and Belarus under a neutral flag may be admitted.
Ex-world heavyweight champion Volodymyr Klitschko, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion in Greco-Roman wrestling and Verkhovna Rada deputy Jean Beleniuk, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmitry Kuleba, Minister of Sports criticized the IOC and the head of the organization Thomas Bach Poland Kamil Bortnichuk.
Source: Sportarena
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.
