Vadym Huttsait: Our unchanged position is that sports sanctions against russia and belarus should remain

Sports sanctions against russia and belarus must be kept – this is our unchanged position. This was emphasized by Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, President of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine Vadym Huttsait in a conversation with journalists of FREEDOM TV channel.

“We are grateful to many countries for the support of our athletes, and to the IOC for the recommendations and decisions on cancelling sports competitions in the countries waging war against Ukraine. And for us it is absolutely unacceptable that russian and belarusian athletes participate in international competitions, even under neutral flags,” the Minister said.

During the conversation, the positions of different countries and international federations on this issue were discussed, as well as the options that they were considering regarding the possibility of admitting russian and belarusian athletes to competitions.

As an example, Vadym Huttsait noted that at an international summit of Ministers of Sports in summer, representatives of some states proposed to recommend to the organizers of sports competitions to offer athletes from russia and belarus to write a non-public statement (declaration) on not supporting the so-called special military operation in Ukraine.

Ukraine neither considered then nor considers now such an option of “admission” of athletes from aggressor countries to international competitions. At the same time, the experience of other countries only confirms the validity of our position.

“In the UK, during a tennis tournament, russian athletes were offered to sign a non-public declaration of not supporting the war and their government. They refused, they are silent – it means they recognize and support the actions of their country,” Vadym Huttsait summed up.

Instead, Ukrainian athletes are not silent. The head of the Ukrainian Ministry recalled the cases when Ukrainian boxers came out with the flag of Ukraine, proudly sang Ukrainian anthem at international competitions, but refused to participate in the same arena with athletes from russia. Ukrainian judoists also demonstrated a conscious position.

According to the Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, he will always be with Ukrainian athletes and support them on the professional front. After all, we are fighting together for the independence and glory of Ukraine.

“We are fighting today on the professional, sports and diplomatic fronts. Everyone is doing their own thing... On the diplomatic front, we write letters, participate in congresses, show what is happening in Ukraine, how the sports infrastructure has suffered, how many athletes have already been killed, and explain why russian and belarusian athletes should not be at international competitions,” the Minister said.