President of the Ukrainian Biathlon Federation calls on the whole world to follow the example of the International Biathlon Union
The president Biathlon Federation of Ukraine Ivan Krulko insists that it is not enough to simply exclude athletes from Russia and Belarus from international competitions, but that their federations should also be excluded from international unions. The way it did International Biathlon Union.
“It is necessary not only to prohibit the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in international competitions, but also to exclude their sports federations from international unions!”
“It is necessary to act as it was done by the International Biathlon Federation at the congress in Salzburg, where I had the honor as the President of the Biathlon Federation to represent Ukraine. They not only made a decision not to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete, but most importantly – suspended the membership of the federation of Russia and Belarus in the international biathlon federation. And this is the only one of all international federations that has made such a decision. It is necessary to ensure that they cannot even come to international conferences.”
“We must be one powerful voice and in no case can we allow the country that is killing Ukrainians today and the country that helps in this to cover themselves in sports arenas with white flags and seek indulgence,” Krulko summed up.
On February 26, 2022, on the third day of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the International Biathlon Union (IBU) allowed Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under a neutral flag. However, already in March of the same year, the governing body adopted a unanimous decision to exclude the federation of Russia and Belarus from among its members.
In September, the disqualification of representatives of the aggressor and accomplice countries was extended indefinitely.
Source: Sportarena
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