Ukraine calls for suspension of Russian wrestlers from Olympic qualifying tournaments
Kyiv • UNN
The Ministry of Youth and Sports, the NOC of Ukraine, and the Wrestling Association of Ukraine reported on Russian athletes who support the war in Ukraine but were allowed to participate in the 2024 Olympic qualifiers, calling for measures to prevent their participation due to violations of neutrality.
The Ministry of Youth Sports, the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Wrestling Association have prepared a joint letter on the facts of violation of the conditions of "neutrality" by individual athletes admitted to the qualifying selections for the 2024 Olympic Games, UNN reports with reference to the Ministry of Youth Sports.
Details
The head of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Matviy Bidnyi, the president of the NOC of Ukraine, Vadym Hutzeit, and the president of the Ukrainian Wrestling Association, Yuriy Kopytko, signed a letter addressed to the IOC and the International Wrestling Federation regarding Russian athletes who support the war in Ukraine and were admitted to the qualifiers for the 2024 Olympic Games in a neutral status.
According to the agency, these are Anvar Allakhiarov, Sergey Semenov, Artur Naifonov, Nadiya Sokolova, Natalia Malisheva, Alina Kasabieva, Roman Vlasov, Olga Khoroshavtseva and Abdulrashid Sadulaev.
In the letter, the Ukrainian side pointed to evidence of their support for the war in Ukraine, participation in propaganda events, public statements in support of the Russian regime, and visits to the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
The heads of Ukrainian specialized agencies and organizations called on their international colleagues to take measures to comply with the IOC recommendations on the neutral status of athletes from Russia and Belarus, as well as to prevent the above-mentioned persons from participating in international competitions, including qualifying tournaments for the 2024 Olympics.
