T he head of state of Ukraine, Volodymir Zelenskyy, asked on Friday that Russia as well as Belarus not be enabled to get involved in the following Olympic Games, also under a neutral flag, in a telematic conference hung on Friday with 35 countries from throughout the globe.
Zelenskyy, that took a trip to London as well as Brussels today to meet various globe leaders to ask for their aid in quiting Russia’s intrusion of Ukraine, firmly insisted that Russia as well as Belarus can not get involved in the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympics as a result of their participation in the battle.
“Terror and the Olympics are two opposite things, they cannot be mixed,” the Ukrainian head of state informed the conference.
“Russia is trying to capture any kind of attention from the world to make war propaganda.
“Russia’s engagement can not be glossed over with nonpartisanship or a white flag.”
Other sports have used a neutral flag
Zelenskyy was referring to sports such as tennis, where in most tournaments Russian and Belarusian athletes have been able to compete under a neutral flag, such as Aryna Sabalenka, winner of the Australian Open.
The meeting held this Friday was led by the new British Minister for Sport and Culture of the United Kingdom, Lucy Frazer, who stressed that Russia has denied opportunities to Ukrainian athletes.
“There is a threat that the globe desires to transform the web page as well as return to the means points were in the past,” Frazer said.
“However, the circumstance with Ukraine has actually not altered given that the International Olympic Committee’s choice last February [when the Russian invasion began] to restriction Russians as well as Belarusians from taking part in any kind of competitors.
“As long as Putin continues his war, Russia and Belarus should not be allowed to participate in any world championships or be represented at the Olympic Games.”
Knock- on impact right into various other sporting activities
This setting for the United Kingdom might have crucial effects for competitions such as Wimbledon, which in 2014 outlawed Russians as well as Belarusians from having fun.
That choice price Wimbledon in the type of punitive damages from the ATP as well as the WTA (over one million euros) as well as showing off charges, as no factors were granted throughout the competition.
IOC persevere
As for the Olympic Games, the IOC stays solid in its choice that Russia as well as Belarus will certainly not get involved as countries, however is open to their professional athletes being able to get involved under a neutral flag.
This has actually been slammed by delegations from various nations, such as Sweden, Denmark, Iceland as well as Finland, that desire the restriction on Russians as well as Belarusians to continue to be in location.
The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, has actually likewise called for professional athletes from these 2 nations not to get involved in following year’s Olympic Games.
Canada’s sporting activities priest, Pascale St-Onge, has actually talked along the exact same lines.
“Canada’s position is clear: Russian and Belarusian athletes must be banned from the 2024 Games, I have reiterated this to my foreign colleagues,” St-Onge claimed.
