Gutzeit: I don’t understand how our athletes can compete in the same tournaments with the Russians. This is impossible

Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine and President of the NOC of Ukraine Vadim Gutzeit commented on the situation possible return of Russian and Belarusian athletes to international competitions.

“After the summit, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky had a conversation with Thomas Bach. He explained our position to the IOC President and asked to extend sanctions against Russians and Belarusians. Moreover, he remarked that such things were not even worth discussing. Thomas Bach said that the war continues on other continents, but it was Ukraine that received the most support.”

“Russians and Belarusians are a special case, because they not only did not condemn the war unleashed by Russia, but even perform at competitions and various events in support of the “special operation”. In these tournaments, they display the letters “z”, “v” and so on. They collect money in support of Russian occupiers. Moreover, some of them are servicemen: Russians won 71 medals at the Tokyo Olympics. 45 of them were received by athletes who are members of CSKA, the army that today kills Ukrainians, robs and destroys our cities.”

“On January 25, an IOC statement appeared about the possible admission of Russians and Belarusians to the competition, provided that they do not support the war. We immediately held an extraordinary general assembly of the NOCs and decided to appeal to the president and members of the IOC, all NOCs, international federations and all partners in order to prevent further development of this issue. The IOC reacted by noting that we are in a hurry, because the decision has not yet been made. We are not going to wait for the Russians to be allowed to the Olympics.”

“At the invitation of President Zelensky, Thomas Bach was in Kyiv in the summer and saw everything with his own eyes. And this is even more surprising. For the sake of what they promote Russians to competitions, I don’t know. For what world? We have been in a full-scale war for a year already, 251 Ukrainian athletes died at the hands of Russia, 35 are in captivity, more than 3 thousand are now defending Ukraine in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Every day rockets fly into the territory of Ukraine… I don’t understand how our athletes can compete with the Russians in the same tournaments, stand on the same mat with them. This is impossible”.

“There was a separate point in Thomas Bach’s letter. He talked about the fact that Russians and Ukrainians play tennis together, so they will be able to play at the Games … I raised this issue at the NOC General Assembly. Who continues to defend Ukraine, and who goes to earn money at tennis tournaments. Unfortunately, the Tennis Federation of Ukraine was not present at our General Assembly. Representatives of this federation say through the media that they were not given recommendations on how to act in such a situation … A full-scale war lasts a year. This needs to be understood on your own. The fact that thousands of our soldiers and civilians are dying is not an argument for you? You can compete in international competitions only thanks to the armed forces of Ukraine. If our defenders had not survived, there would be no Ukraine. Under what flag would you perform?

“For us, the main thing is the non-admission of Russian and Belarusian athletes. If they are allowed, then for us it will be a strong blow to all athletes, coaches and federations in general. We have spoken and will continue to appeal to the international community to prevent this from happening. As a final step, we are considering a boycott of competitions, possibly the 2024 Olympics. If the Solidarity Fund won’t help us, that’s their right. In our world, the greatest value is human life, which we, unfortunately, lose every day.”

“In addition to the actual admission of the national teams of Russia and Belarus, they are also discussing the creation of a refugee team from representatives of these countries. This was stated by my colleague and friend, Minister of Sports and Tourism of Poland Kamil Bortnichuk at the ministerial summit. He admitted the possibility of this option. In this case, Russians and Belarusians would have to renounce citizenship and participate in the Olympics under the flag of the IOC. On February 23, I was in Poland together with representatives of the Baltic countries, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. We also discussed this issue. Ukraine’s position is unequivocal: there should be no Russians at the Olympics. If the IOC decides to allow them, then the option of refugee status can be seen as a condition of admission.”

“I talked with Olga Kharlan, who is preparing for the competition, she trains a lot for this. She does not understand how to go on the same track with Russian athletes. Her parents are in Nikolaev and this worries the athlete very much. A similar situation is with most of our athletes. Having the opportunity, I want to thank Svetlana Borisovna Saidova, the head coach of the Ukrainian national team in synchronized swimming, who said that we would boycott the Games if representatives of aggressor countries were allowed to compete. The training base in Kharkiv, where they trained for the competition, is destroyed, so she knows what she is talking about. Her girls are European and world champions, Olympic medalists, but they all understand that there are things more important than the Olympic Games. This is the position of real Ukrainians. The time will come when everyone will have to decide what is most important to him.

Recall that the IOC is ready to consider the possibility of admitting athletes from Russia and Belarus to international competitions. In this case, 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 IOC believes that a complete ban on the performance of Russian and Belarusian athletes is discrimination and is contrary to the Olympic Charter. The organizers of the 2024 Olympics in Paris said they would adhere to the decision of the IOC to allow Russians and Belarusians to compete under a neutral flag.