Ukraine once again calls on the IOC to deprive Russian and Belarusian wrestlers of their licenses for the Olympic Games

Ukraine has once again appealed to the International Olympic Committee to deprive Russian and Belarusian wrestlers of their licenses for the Olympic Games. The letter sent to the IOC cites the facts of support for the war by these athletes, UNN reports with reference to the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

Details

The head of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Matviy Bidnyi, the president of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, Vadym Hutzeit, and the president of the Ukrainian Wrestling Association, Yuriy Kopytko, sent a joint letter to the International Olympic Committee in connection with the qualification for Paris 2024 of representatives of the Russian Federation and Belarus who openly support military actions against Ukraine.

"The Russian Wrestling Federation has named the athletes who will participate in the 2024 Summer Olympics. Please note that these athletes support the war in Ukraine, the policy of the Russian dictator and do not meet the sufficient criteria to obtain the status of an individual neutral athlete (AIN). In particular, these are Dinara Kudaieva, Natalia Malysheva, Olga Khoroshavtseva and Irina Kurachkina," the statement said.

The letter provides evidence of support for the war by these athletes. The signatories ask to take this information into account and ensure that Russian and Belarusian athletes who are members of military organizations or supporters of the war against Ukraine are not allowed to participate in the Olympic Games.

In addition, Ukraine emphasized that the entire Russian and Belarusian sports community is an instrument of the state policy of the aggressor countries, and athletes with Russian and Belarusian citizenship cannot meet the sufficient criteria for obtaining the status of an individual neutral athlete (AIN). This undermines the foundations of the international sports community and calls into question the fairness and impartiality of sports competitions.

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"Ukraine's position remains unwavering: as long as Russian troops, with the support of the Belarusian government, continue to wage their brutal war against the Ukrainian people, a ban on the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in any international competitions in any status should be introduced," the ministry summarized.