Ukraine has chosen a deeply wrong tactic to counter the return of aggressor athletes to the Olympics. That’s why!

The Amateur Boxing Association returned athletes from Russia and Belarus to their tournaments and under the flags of their countries. The International Cycling Union is ready to allow representatives of the aggressor countries to their competitions in a neutral status. And the International Olympic Committee can return Russians and Belarusians to the Olympic Games. And even the voices of famous Ukrainian athletes who opposed such a decision, as well as the statements of the Scandinavian and Baltic countries, the IOC does not seem to listen. On the other hand, he accused Ukraine, which is considering the possibility of boycotting the games if Russians and Belarusians are admitted, even if they have a neutral status, of violating Olympic principles.

The IOC and personally its head Bach are the “quislings” of the new time. Disgraceful pleasers, unprincipled dealers in the Olympic brand. There is nothing sporty and even more so Olympic in their statements and actions. If Pierre de Coubertin could see the current Bach fawning over the aggressor country and opportunistic athletes, he would drive him backhand with a glove and challenge him to a duel.

We say this as a disclaimer, to start a conversation. But further we will explain why our actions in counteracting injustice are fundamentally wrong.

If we are going to respond to the outright rudeness of the IOC with a boycott and self-removal from the Olympics, we thereby only pour water on their mill. They are just waiting for this. Our athletes should not twice become victims of Russian aggression – in the first wave of misfortunes, their stadiums, training bases, and homes were destroyed. In the second, instead of the aggressor, again, Ukrainian athletes will suffer, because in response to injustice they were asked to go into boycott themselves, that is, to double the injustice against them as victims of the war.

It is all the more wrong if the athletes of our coalition partners, those who are already on the side of good, go into the boycott. Let, they say, conditional Karjakins, Malkins and Valuevs calmly go to medals, we will also remove competitors for them. This is injustice cubed!

The right way is different – diplomatic. Right now, the Ministry of Sports, since it has lost control of the situation, should, together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, initiate a series of meetings with the Olympic leaders of all democratic states, the result of which should be breakthroughs in three main areas:

• – declaration of no confidence in Bach personally and in the current governing bodies of the IOC
• – formation of a coalition to prevent enemy athletes
• – compiling an official list of athletes who supported aggression and were seen in statements of xenophobia, racism, intolerance based on religions, nationalities and other universal values.

We don’t have to fight the mills – we don’t need to boycott anything ourselves. Even within the dogma that the current leadership of the IOC imposes, we can simply beat everyone who brought politics into the sport.

Our Ministry of Sports should right now, together with the best lawyers in Ukraine, create an evidence base for all Russian Olympians who 1) are members of army sports clubs (such as CSKA and so on), 2) feed from sponsors from sanctions lists, 3) have military or police ranks . Right now, every participation of their Olympians in frenetic political shows or rallies in support of the war needs to be carefully recorded. In this way, the most important reactionaries of world sports will be cut off by themselves.

The main thing now is to mercilessly beat Bach and his camarilla with the fundamental principles of Olympism. Olympics during the war? Does Bach want to publicly exclude Putin’s aggressor who violates the Olympic truce? And how will 80+ NOCs look at it?

The boycott of the Olympics, kids, is the method of a kid who kicks his leg when he doesn’t like something.

The legally justified disqualification of everyone, even in the slightest way, involved in the aggressors and their sanctioned characters is an adult blow to the solar plexus for both warmongers and unscrupulous greedy businessmen under the guise of “peacekeepers”.

Understanding all the abomination that the current world of sports has become, we should not become its victims, but, on the contrary, controllers, inspectors and supervisors. Let our right hand consistently punish those who dare to try to justify aggression through sports. The tools for this are legal work and careful documentation of crimes, and not baby talk and the principle of “beat your own so that others are afraid.” No! Ours must certainly participate in all olympiads and world championships. To spite everyone!

Bogdan Gryschuk