The heads of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Olympic Committee of Ukraine and the Judo Federation of Ukraine call for the exclusion of Russian judokas who support Russia's war against Ukraine from the European Championships. This was reported by UNN with reference to the press service of the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine.
The President of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine Vadym Gutzeit, the acting Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine Matviy Bidnyi, and the President of the Judo Federation of Ukraine Mykhailo Koshlyak appealed to the President of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach and the President of the International Judo Federation (IJF) Marius Wieser with a demand to prevent athletes who support Russia's war against Ukraine from participating in the 2024 European Judo Championships
The list includes the following Russian athletes: Madina Taimazova, Inal Tasoyev, Yago Abuladze, Arman Adamyan, Danilo Lavrentiev, Mahmadbek Makhmadbekov, Mikhail Igolnikov, Arman Adamyan, Matvey Kanikovsky, Tamerlan Bashaev, Glafir Borisov, Ksenia Galitskaya, Dali Liluashvili, Kamila Badurova, Elise Startseva, Ramazan Abdulayev.
Representatives of Ukrainian sports agencies point out in their appeal that some of the aforementioned athletes competed in the "Russian Judo Club Championship in honor of Putin's 70th birthday." This tournament took place in Grozny in October 2022 and turned into a propaganda event in support of military aggression.
It is also reported that Madina Taimazova was photographed for Russian propaganda resources against the background of the image of dictator Putin and the letter Z; in addition, the athlete took part in a propaganda event called "a master class for young judokas from Donbas," which included Ukrainian children illegally transported to Russia.
The signatories ask that this information be taken into account and that all possible measures be taken to prevent Russian and Belarusian athletes who are members of military organizations and support the war against Ukraine from participating in international competitions, including the Olympic Games.
Recall
The Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine considers Russian athleteswho have not changed their sports citizenship to be agents of Russian hybrid influence, as they glorify Russian aggression, despite the fact that the war is harming Ukrainian athletes and coaches.