Winner of the Dakar Marathon Rally-2017 Sergei Karyakin in an interview with , he said that a normal person would never sign the documents demanded by the International Automobile Federation (FIA) from Russians condemning the special operation and would not protest to his state.
Previously, it was announced that to participate in the Dakar, Russian athletes had to fill out an FIA questionnaire condemning the special operation in Ukraine. Previously, a letter from Karyakin addressed to FIA chief Mohammed bin Sulayem appeared on , in which the driver asks to exclude political points from the newspaper due to the fact that the document “contradicts the principles of neutrality.”
— It all started in February, when the sanctions penetrated so deeply that they began to interfere in sport and erect barriers for athletes. If we talk about the FIA, they can give the opportunity to participate in competitions, but on one condition: you must condemn the special operation, protest to your state. These are measures of enslavement that a normal person will not go to. Such a requirement is a mere formality, no one forbids driving the Dakar, you just need to sign a piece of paper.
It is clear that no one will let you win in such a situation. They cheat so the Russians don’t win the race. And they will also deprive the flag and the anthem of any national identity.
We have tried to contact the organizers to cancel the signing of the document. Wrote a letter addressed to the president of the FIA, sent it several times, but never received a response. And I don’t see any real possibility of resolving the situation. So we are not going to Dakar.
Now there is an urgent problem to keep the sports team to participate in the competitions. It is important to understand that human capital is one of the main factors that keeps you going. And you don’t need to lose people for next season, save the team.
We have decided to put sports equipment up for sale, because there are no sponsors, no funds. Previously, we lived off sports car sales, but today they are not in high demand and we found ourselves a little out of work. We have changed our profile to fulfill orders, typical tasks, we are entering a different market that we have to adapt to,” Karyakin told .
Dakar will be held from December 31 to January 15 in Saudi Arabia.
Source : MatchTV
