Sergio Buzato, the coach of the Russian women's volleyball team, wrote an open letter apologizing for the ambiguous gesture he showed after his recent qualifying tournament for the Olympic Games in Tokyo. The Italian specialist narrowed his eyes after defeating the South Korean team, which was the reason for his accusations of racist behavior.
“I am extremely upset that a photo with my gesture can be regarded as a manifestation of racism. Racist ideology and worldview have always been alien to me! I am sure that many of my friends and acquaintances of various nationalities can confirm this. I had no desire to offend, tease, let alone humiliate anyone. Now I understand and realize that I did a frivolous act. I apologize to everyone whose feelings I could have hurt, as well as to my work colleagues, the All-Russian Volleyball Federation (FEF), the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) and the entire volleyball community, ”wrote Buzato in a letter.
The reason for the trainer's accusations was a picture taken by photojournalist Vladimir Pesnya. On it, the specialist, rejoicing at the difficult victory of the wards over South Korea and getting a ticket to the Olympic Games, narrowed his eyes with his fingers. In the world, this gesture is often interpreted as racist towards East Asian peoples.
The scandal struck three days after the match. The South Korean Volleyball Federation decided not to leave Buzato’s actions without an assessment and filed a complaint with the FIVB and the IEF.
“We are trying to confirm whether such an act is punishable by the International Volleyball Federation. We decided to take measures so that this does not happen again, ”the Ronhap agency quotes the organization.
The FIVB said they received a complaint and launched an investigation against Buzato. At the same time, they noted that the All-Russian Volleyball Federation took steps to resolve the conflict, removing the controversial photo from its resources.
“It is important to emphasize that the FIVB does not approve of any such tactless gestures, even if there was no intention to offend. The FIVB is committed to understanding and tolerating sports that are rich in cultural and ethical diversity. The FIVB will continue to work tirelessly with the federations so that this work reflects on the entire global volleyball community. The FIVB is up to date and notes that the IHF immediately took steps to remove the photo from various sites, as the photo does not correspond to its views and values. The FIVB has received a formal complaint, which is currently being considered. There will be no further comments on this issue until the process is completed, ”the RIA Novosti Federation said.
The VVF noted that they were ready to apologize for their coach, calling his actions harmless. At the same time, the organization admitted that they were upset by the events.
“This is not about any intentional action. We received a letter from the Korean Federation, we will answer them and apologize. Buzato in no way wanted to offend or offend anyone. This gesture was made on emotions, and thus he showed that the team was going to the Games in Tokyo. He himself, and we in the federation, are upset by this situation and the way we perceived his gesture, ”said the General Secretary of the VEF Alexander Yaremenko.
The author of the photo also stood up for Buzato. The song stated that the trainer's gesture was caused by joyful emotions and was not turned to the South Korean team.
“Buzato in my photo expresses the joy of getting the team to the Olympic Games in Japan. That is what symbolizes his gesture. There is neither a sense of superiority on racial grounds, nor humiliation of anyone, nor persecution, and this is exactly this and that can only be interpreted as racism. The gesture is addressed to the wards of athletes and to me as a photographer, it means "We are now Japanese." In this case, we can talk about using a stereotype, but not about racism, ”wrote the song on Facebook.
The photographer assured that Buzato has a positive attitude towards both South Korea and Japan, so his accusations of racism cannot be justified.
“The photograph was interpreted without context awareness. It saw an insult either against the Japanese, or against the Koreans. This is absolute nonsense. Buzato, whom I have known for many years, has been to Japan and Korea many times. He, like me, respects the culture of the peoples living in these countries with great respect. This can be confirmed by anyone who knows Sergio or me well, including my Japanese colleagues. Once again: the gesture was not addressed to Korean rivals, nor to the Japanese, and in general to any Asian people. It was a gesture of pride for getting the team to the Olympic Games in Tokyo, ”added Song.
Later it became known that the All-Russian Volleyball Federation had a conversation with Buzato, but would not apply sanctions to it. This was announced the day after the complaint of the South Korean Federation Yaremenko.
“We are all upset, and Buzato too. We will apologize officially, but we don’t want to talk about sanctions for the coach. The fact that our rivals drew attention to, of course, is unpleasant. But Sergio has been working for Russian volleyball for 20 years, he was and remains an intelligent guy, ”said TASS Yaremenko.
While the FIVB is conducting an investigation into Buzato, the Russian men's team will start its qualifying tournament for the Tokyo Olympics. From August 9 to 11 in St. Petersburg, the wards of Tuomas Sammelvuo will play with the teams of Iran, Cuba and Mexico. A ticket to the Games will receive one team of four.