Ukraine calls for banning athletes from Russian Federation and Belarus from competing under a neutral flag
Olena Barsukova – FRIDAY, 1 JULY 2022
Ukraine calls on international partners to ban Russians and Belarusians from competing at sports competitions even under neutral flags.
This was stated by the minister of Youth and Sport, Vadym Huttsait, during the summit of sports ministers on July 1.
"Russians and Belarusians have no place next to representatives of the civilised world – neither in sports arenas, nor in sports organisations, nor in the decision-making process. Ukraine insists on a FULL ban," he wrote on Facebook.
Russian attacks have claimed the lives of more than 80 Ukrainian athletes and coaches, and destroyed more than 100 sporting facilities.
Meanwhile, Russian and Belarusian athletes are supporting the war with their silence, the minister said. Huttsait also condemned the attempts of certain sports federations to return Russians to international competitions, in particular in judo, bobsleigh, and skeleton.
"Ukraine insists on a full ban on athletes and sports officials from Russia and Belarus. Their participation in international competitions, even under neutral flags, is unacceptable", the minister said.
The summit of sports ministers was held via video-conference with representatives of Lithuania, Poland, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Slovakia, Romania, Japan, Norway, Germany, Sweden, Finland, the USA, Italy, and other countries.
Earlier, in cooperation with the Office of the President and international partners, Ukraine managed to achieve more than 125 sanctions against representatives of Russian and Belarusian sports.
Reminder: Athletes from the aggressor country of Russia and its de facto ally, Belarus, were excluded from more than 90% of world competitions.
However, some federations are trying to return these athletes by allowing them to compete under a neutral flag.
In response, Ukrainian athletes will boycott competitions if Russians or Belarusians are allowed to attend them.
