The National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, and the Fencing Federation of Ukraine urged the International Olympic Committee and the International Fencing Federation (FIE) not to allow the candidacy of Russian Sofia Velikaya to participate in the elections to the FIE Athletes' Commission. This was reported by UNN with reference to the NOC of Ukraine in Telegram.
Details
The appeal to international sports organizations emphasizes that Sofia Velikaya is a citizen of the Russian Federation, a major in the Russian armed forces (according to official information from the CSKA website).
In addition, she was a confidant of Russian dictator Putin in the 2024 elections. According to IOC criteria, such a person cannot be recognized as neutral, has no right to participate in the international sports movement – and even less to claim to represent the interests of athletes worldwide.
The signatories of the letter emphasize that the FIE violates its own principles and the IOC recommendations of March 28, 2023.
Ukraine calls on the FIE to verify the facts presented in the letter and take measures to prevent Velikaya from participating in the elections to the Athletes' Commission.
The National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, and the Fencing Federation of Ukraine stressed that aggressor countries use sport not for dialogue and unity, but as an instrument of propaganda.
Ukraine once again reaffirms its unchanging position: as long as Russian troops, supported by the Belarusian regime, continue the criminal war against the Ukrainian people, Russian and Belarusian athletes should not participate in the international sports movement in any capacity
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Recall
Ukrainian sports leaders appealed to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) with a call to maintain sanctions against Russian and Belarusian athletes and continue to not allow them to participate in international competitions.