The FDU questioned the neutral status of Russian athletes
Judo Federation of Ukraine issued a statement in which she announced her refusal to participate in all competitions under the auspices of the International Judo Federation (IJF).
The corresponding decision of the governing Ukrainian body was a response to the permission of Russian and Belarusian judokas to compete at the Grand Slam tournament under a neutral flag.
In its statement, the FDU indicated that the neutrality of Russian athletes is out of the question, since a significant part of the team has ranks in the Russian army, which is waging a full-scale war against Ukraine, and is sponsored by the government of the aggressor country.
“Judging by the latest decision, the IJF does not know about the tens of thousands of dead Ukrainian civilians, the atrocities of Russian fascists in Bucha, destroyed cities, millions of refugees who lost their roof over their heads and were forced to leave their homes, destroyed infrastructure, including sports , about the billions of dollars of damage that the Russian aggressors inflicted on Ukraine, ”the FDU appealed to the national federations.
“What kind of neutral status of the athletes of Russia and Belarus can we talk about if these teams train centrally for the budgetary funds of their states or national federations throughout the entire period of the war.”
“Athletes, coaches and support staff of the national team continue to receive salaries from the Russian Ministry of Sports, the Russian Judo Federation and even the Russian Ministry of Defense. Also, all the training of these so-called ‘neutral athletes’ is carried out at the expense of the budget of the Russian Federation. All this does not allow them to receive the status of neutral athletes. How can we compare Russian judoists with representatives of Syria and Afghanistan competing under the IJF flag, who were unable to continue training in their countries, or with Said Mollaei, who left Iran due to persecution? [со стороны] government.”
“In more than 120 days of Russian military aggression on the territory of Ukraine, none of the so-called ‘neutral athletes’ and coaches expressed their attitude towards the war in even a minimally condemning post on social networks. None of the athletes, coaches or officials of the Russian Judo Federation dared to publicly condemn the war in Ukraine or even call their country for peace. We are sure that the majority of representatives of Russian judo, drugged by crazy propaganda, support an aggressive policy and a war of conquest on the territory of Ukraine.”
“We are deeply disappointed with the decision of the IJF and have decided to refuse to participate in all sporting events held by the International Judo Federation until the Judo Federations of Russia and Belarus are suspended from participation in IJF competitions in any status.”
The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine continues for 121 days.
Source: Sportarena
