Ministry of Sports explains ban on national teams competing with Russians and Belarusians

The Ministry of Youth and Sports explains the order banning Ukrainian national teams from competing in tournaments with athletes from Russia and Belarus.

Source: Suspilne public broadcaster, citing the statement of Matvii Bidnyi, the Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports, on air during the national joint 24/7 newscast

Quote: "The order comes into force immediately after its signing and promulgation. I want to say that it does not actually change anything. As of today, I don't see any position taken by a sports federation that allows Russians and Belarusians to participate. Who would really want to go and compete on the same platform with people who support murderers and invaders. I am almost certain that we will not have to consider revoking the status of national federations. We also have such an instruction from the government.

We see that almost the entire sports world is on the same page and that representatives of Russia and Belarus should be excluded from the global sports and cultural context.

And we cannot participate in events where they are present, thereby tolerating the decision of international federations that legitimises their return to major international events where they can show that Russia is also part of the civilised world because we all understand that today it is not."

Details: He noted that the decision to deprive a federation of its "national" status would be made by a commission, and each case will be considered separately.

Quote: "In each case, we will consider the position of the federation and how it will defend and protect the interests of the state in wartime. We will consider and respond to each specific example separately."

More details: At the same time, Bidnyi added that Ukraine is negotiating with international federations to prevent Russians and Belarusians from participating.

Quote: "And even when there is such speculation that we are washing our hands of the competition and making room for Russians, this is not the case at all. The fact that the athletes will not participate does not mean that we will not go there and fight for our rights.

We will emphasise the inadmissibility of the aggressor's participation in international competitions. We are working on mechanisms to do so."

Background:

• On the evening of 13 April, the Ministry of Youth and Sports issued an order prohibiting national teams from competing in tournaments where Russian and Belarusian athletes would be present.
• Prior to this, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended that international sports federations allow athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete in tournaments in a neutral status but postpone consideration of their participation in the Olympics.

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