People’s Deputy of Ukraine Olga Saladukhaa former athlete, spoke about the possible return of Russians and Belarusians to world sports:
“Discussion about the equal rights of the killer and the victim. This is exactly what is happening now in world sports. The International Olympic Committee, some federations and NOCs are actively promoting the return of Russians and Belarusians to the sports arenas of the world. Their argument is deadly – one cannot discriminate on the basis of a passport, one must allow so-called “clean” athletes, that is, those who do not publicly support the war, to compete.
But there is a problem – in Russia it is almost impossible to separate the “wheat from the chaff”. Dictatorial regimes create systems in which any athlete is part of the propaganda machine. Today, this machine is working to incite hatred against Ukraine and to escalate the war. In particular, sports journalists have already collected data on more than 220 athletes from Russia and Belarus, one way or another involved in the propaganda of the war. The list is updated almost daily.
The VR Committee on Youth and Sports is guided by this and other information when developing recommendations for the introduction of personal sanctions. And we do not see that there is an anti-war movement of athletes in Russia, or even actions of individual athletes who would convey a position different from the Kremlin propaganda.
What do the leaders of world sports offer us? Compete with people whose hands are up to the elbows in blood. Compete with them in obviously unequal conditions. They will train in equipped halls and stadiums. And we are in the ruins that our sports facilities have become due to Russian missiles. They will always feel safe, and we will expect an air raid every minute. I’m not talking about the occupation of entire regions of Ukraine, which are excluded from sports life. At such joint competitions with Russians, Ukrainians have real chances to run into people who themselves killed our athletes at the front or are now being killed by their relatives.
Obviously, Thomas Bach and his like-minded people are sure that this will promote sports solidarity and brotherhood. Previously, we were told that sport is out of politics. And this made it possible to rehabilitate the Russians after the annexation of Crimea and the war in Donbass. Now we have moved to a new level of demagogy – sport is not only outside of politics, but in general outside of life.
According to Bach and the company, one should not pay attention to the fact that half of our country was bombed, killing hundreds of athletes, destroying dozens of large sports facilities. Like, forget about the crimes of Bucha, Izyum or Kramatorsk. Ignore the weekly massive shelling. Do not worry about the fate of your parents, children, women. Come to the Olympics and shake hands with those who kill you. It’s so sporty.
Do you feel absurd? Fortunately, not only Ukraine understands this. We have allies. First of all, Poland, the Baltic countries, Scandinavia and, I hope, their number will grow. We must counteract the schizophrenia that has settled at the head of the top international sports functionaries.
There can be no sport without war, without the killing of hundreds of thousands of people, without the pain and grief of the victims of Russian aggression. There can be no sport outside of life. And we will continue to fight with all our might to bring this simple truth to those who make key decisions in world sport.”
