“No one was going to make indulgences”: IBU expectedly extended the suspension of Russians from international tournaments

The International Biathlon Union has extended the suspension of Russian and Belarusian athletes from international competitions held under its auspices.

The corresponding decision was made by the Congress of the organization, whose meeting was held on Friday in the Austrian Salzburg.

In order to keep the sanctions against both teams in force, 39 countries out of 46 spoke out. Only two were against, and five more abstained from participating in the vote.

The meeting began with a video message from the President of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, who once again made a speech about the impossibility of returning Russia and Belarus to the world stage.

“We must acknowledge that the time has not yet come to repeal these recommendations, but we hope that we are all united that the day will soon come when we can again follow our mission.

Our role is to be an example that confronts conflicts and divisions of people, and not to reinforce them.

We must be together in order to achieve our common mission, ”TASS quotes Bach.

He also said that the well-known restrictive measures were taken "with a very heavy heart" because the functionaries were faced with "an unsolvable problem."

“On the one hand, we cannot completely abandon our mission to unite the whole world in competitions, on the other hand, the only way to protect this mission was to recommend that athletes be excluded solely because of their nationality,” the official emphasized.

At the same time, he did not rule out that the return of suspended athletes is possible in a neutral status, but the decision was essentially left to the federations.

So, according to the head of the press service of the Russian Biathlon Union Sergei Averyanov, Bach's appeal left an ambivalent impression.

“Speaking about Russian and Belarusian athletes, he did not directly say that they should be suspended.

He even voiced the option of their admission to international competitions without a national identity.

But in general, Bach washed his hands - decide, they say, for yourself, ”wrote a representative of the federation in his Telegram channel.

Bach was followed by the head of the IBU legal department, Christian Kaidel, who called for the suspension to remain in place.

In addition, he stressed that it is necessary to give the executive committee of the organization the right to lift sanctions if the situation favors this.

This decision was finally made, and it is important in the circumstances.

The fact is that the congress is the supreme body of the IBU, and its decision can only be canceled at the next similar meeting, which will take place in 2 years.

Now the executive committee has a formal opportunity to reconsider its attitude to admission "upon the occurrence of certain conditions."

The head of the RBU Viktor Maygurov and the chairman of the Belarusian Biathlon Federation Andrian Tsibulsky also spoke at the meeting.

“Then the representative of Ukraine took the floor.

He talked for about eight minutes why Russians and Belarusians should not be allowed to compete.

Norway and Poland also spoke out against us,” Averyanov said.

Maigurov, commenting on the results of the meeting, stressed that the SBR does not plan to stop the struggle for restoration.

In particular, it is planned to request from the IBU a detailed explanation of the requirement for distancing from the special military operation in Ukraine, which was announced back in August.

“We want to hear what it means to be non-participant in the NWO.

These are general words on their part, but I want specifics.

We are not involved in it anyway, ”RIA Novosti quotes Maygurov.

He also stressed that he sees a trend towards improving the situation.

The IBU is open to dialogue and ready to discuss options for the development of events.

“Our position is that in this whole story, athletes should not suffer.

Let the leadership not go anywhere, and the biathletes have nothing to do with it.

If we take our view, then the biathletes of Germany, France and other countries are military personnel.

If athletes from Russia are told that they cannot be military personnel in order to be admitted to international competitions, I am sure that 99% will leave the army tomorrow.

But they (IBU) do not say so, because they understand that they cannot fulfill such promises, ”said the head of the RRF.

Of course, the final decision of the congress did not come as a surprise to anyone.

The head coach of the national team Yuri Kaminsky, and the two-time Olympic champion Dmitry Vasilyev, and the ex-president of the RBU Vladimir Drachev spoke about the absence of any illusions.

The latter even recalled that in the international federation “they took up arms against us for a long time” and even when he was its head, it was impossible to agree on anything with IBU officials.

“It is clear that all these suspensions were planned, no one was going and is not going to do us any concessions.

This is one of the methods of fighting against Russia, they act on us through sports, through culture, through diplomacy, ”TASS quoted Drachev as saying.

"To perform without a flag and an anthem is unacceptable"

What came as a surprise on the eve of the IBU Congress was the speech by the President of the US Olympic and Paralympic Committees, Suzanne Lyons.

She acknowledged that the return of suspended athletes to the international arena is inevitable.

“We know that the IOC is starting to think about whether there is a way back for Russian athletes.

Begin to get in touch with all interested parties to get information on this issue.

It seems to me that at some point we all begin to understand that individual athletes should not become victims of any kind of politics of their states or tensions of a different kind.

I think that there will inevitably be a desire for athletes who happen to live in Russia to return and start participating in competitions, but the timing and how this will be implemented remains to be determined, ”the official said.

Her words, as well as Bach's subsequent statement about a possible neutral status, on the one hand, were perceived as a positive sign, indicating a softening of the position of international officials.

However, on the other hand, this can be seen as another attempt to infringe on the interests of the country.

In particular, attention is drawn to the fact that Lyons called athletes victims of state policy.

Therefore, it is not surprising that Vladimir Drachev called Bach's proposal for a neutral status "complete stupidity."

“Give up Russia - then we will let you go, but who will refuse?

Who is ready to betray the motherland?

It's time to stop waiting and hoping, the strong are not perceived, and we have never been perceived, ”said the former biathlete. 

State Duma deputy Roman Teryushkov said that he did not consider it possible for domestic athletes to perform without a flag and an anthem.

“Essentially, Bach and the U.S. Olympic Committee are proposing that individual athletes compete who will forgo their country.

All this is unacceptable.

We must already understand that we will not prepare for the Olympic Games in Paris.

We need to create the SCO Games, in which there will be more and more participants, ”TASS quotes the parliamentarian.

A similar opinion was expressed by the well-known coach Alexander Kasperovich.

He stated that he did not understand how it was possible to act under a neutral flag.

“It turns out that our athletes are without a father and without a mother, or what?

How did it happen?

We stand for Russia!

We must represent the state.

I am against the neutral option.

But this is my opinion.

It’s not for me to decide how the athletes, the leaders of the federation and the state will look at it, ”said the mentor.

In turn, Dmitry Vasilyev, although he does not consider missing the international season a great tragedy, advises not to give up the chance to start, even without national symbols.

“I'm afraid to sound like a liberal.

On the one hand, I am always for my country: I will fight and fight.

But as for athletes, their age is quite short.

If you have the opportunity to act in a neutral status, then you should not refuse.

It will be necessary to perform.

This will be a kind of bridge, because the relationship is almost completely broken.

It will be a kind of dialogue, and without it it is impossible to restore ties.

In the end, everyone knows that these are Russian athletes.

Pragmatism must remain in all situations, ”Match TV quotes the two-time Olympic champion.