Sport should not be dependent on politics, said Morinari Watanabe, president of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG), speaking about the possibility of participation of representatives of the Russian Federation and Belarus in international tournaments. This was reported by Interfax with reference to the press service of the federation.
“I protect all the gymnasts in the world as a family. Therefore, I support Ukrainian gymnasts and defend the right of Russian and Belarusian gymnasts who are not involved in the SVO to participate in competitions,” Watanabe said.
“Sport does not depend on politics. Sport should strive for peace… This is the mission given to sport,” the head of the organization emphasized.
The FIG report says that the federation will consider the recommendations of the IOC on the admission of Russians and Belarusians to international competitions at a meeting of the executive committee of the organization on May 12–13 in Turkey.
On March 28, the IOC recommended that Russians and Belarusians be allowed to compete in international competitions, but only as neutral athletes. At the same time, they must meet the criteria: only those who do not support the SVO in Ukraine can be admitted to tournaments, and athletes related to the armed forces, for example, CSKA and Dynamo, are also prohibited from participating in competitions. The ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in team sports remains.
Source: Rosbalt
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