Lausanne, Switzerland (AP) – Russian Olympic gold medalist Evgeny Rilov has been banned from playing for nine months in support of President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Rilov took to the stage with other Olympic sports event medalists last month AND wore a “Z” chest jacket. The letter was not part of the Russian alphabet, but it became a symbol of support for Russian troops as it was used as an indicator on Russian armored vehicles operating in Ukraine.
A brief statement by FINA, the world’s governing body for swimming, said on Thursday that it “recognizes” a previously unpublished decision of the disciplinary council to ban Rilov from an event at Luzhniki’s stadium. Moscow following Rilov’s presence and behavior. . “
Rilov was the star of the Russian swimming team at the Tokyo Olympics last year with two gold medals. Its ban began on Wednesday and includes any international competition. The impact on Railov is likely to be largely symbolic, as FINA also continued its decision to exclude competitors from Russia and its ally Belarus from all international events for the rest of 2022. It also lost of a sponsorship deal with Speedo last month.
FINA had previously banned Russia and Belarus from participating in the World Cup in Hungary in June, but banned them from participating in other events. At the time, FINA said Russia planned to boycott all international events, which Russia denied. This position has been clarified.
“The Office has reaffirmed its position that athletes and officials of Russia and Belarus will not be invited to any FINA events until the end of 2022,” FINA said on Thursday. FINA’s expertise includes a variety of water sports, including swimming, diving, water polo and artistic swimming.
Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee, said he supports disciplinary action against athletes like Rilov.
The chairman of the International Olympic Committee clarified that the IOC supports sanctions against anyone in the Olympic community who supports the war and continues to monitor the situation, the IOC said in a statement on Friday at a meeting with Bach Ukrainian Sports. Officers.
The IOC had previously called on event organizers to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes and teams from competing, or Bach said last month that “even on special occasions they are prohibited from recognizing their nationality.”
Nothing was said about the disciplinary investigation against other Russian athletes in the sport, including figure skating, gymnastics and skiing, which also showed up at the rally on March 18.
Source: Huffpost
