Former Sports Minister of Russia Pavel Kolobkov in an interview with , he spoke about the withdrawal of Russian athletes from international competitions, stating that the IOC, by its decision on the admission criteria, made the situation even more divisive.
In February 2022, the IOC suspended the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in international competitions due to the situation in Ukraine. In March 2023, the IOC published recommendations on the individual admission of Russian and Belarusian athletes. These include neutral status, a ban on participation in team sports, a ban on the participation of athletes associated with law enforcement or who have expressed support for the CWO.
– Do you agree with Elena Vyalbe, who banned Russian skiers from participating in foreign competitions under a neutral flag?
– Difficult time. The IOC, by its decision, created a split and created even more problems, trying to please everyone. The package of proposals presented by Lausanne equated political opinions with sport, which is unacceptable. Moreover, these proposals were clearly formed under pressure.
– Of which?
“I don’t know, and that’s okay. This is fundamentally unacceptable. I know a lot of people in the CIO – smart and adequate people, why did they choose that? The proposed procedure for our admission is illegal, sport cannot and should not be linked to politics. It is recorded in the Olympic Charter, and Thomas Bach repeated it many times. In a way, even the AMA had more grounds for punishment, because it followed its own code, and playing without a flag or an anthem was part of its standards. Now what and where does it come from? On what basis?
— Bach talked about the difficulties with security.
Is this the area of responsibility of our athletes? What are they doing here? The Americans assume the obligation to organize the World Cup and do not issue visas to participants from a number of countries – whose fault is that? Let them deal with the issues that need to be resolved, and don’t pass them on to the athletes. Not to mention basic human apologies. “We are thinking about safety, so we have to pull you out, sorry,” what’s stopping you from saying that at least? ! Sanctions or security – decide already, finally. If the first, on what basis? If the latter, then for our safety, they won’t let us in? Where is the logic ? And if the reason is still political, revise the IOC charter, from now on everyone will know that they live in new harsh realities.
– In Russia, the question of admission of athletes according to new criteria should be decided centrally or individually?
– I think we need a series of meetings with federations and athletes, possibly closed. A split cannot be allowed, an honest conversation is necessary. Opinions, of course, will be different, especially in sports where sports careers last only one or two Olympic cycles, but people need to understand the extent of responsibility,” the correspondent quoted Kolobkov as saying.
Source : MatchTV
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