General Director of the “Ufa” football club Shamil Gazizov talked about the sanctions of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Russian sports and the performance of the Russians in international competitions with neutral status. In his opinion, any success of these athletes is a joint victory of the sport of Russia.
“I’m always on the side of athletes to show you’re stronger in the international arena – and that’s a victory. What’s the story here? If any athlete shows that he is stronger, it means that we are stronger. It’s very simple, really. I support athletes,” said Gazizov socialbites.ca.
Recall that at the end of February 2022, the IOC made a call to international sports federations and recommended that Russian and Belarusian athletes not be allowed to participate in any competitions. After that, various international sports organizations began to exclude the Russians from the competition. According to IOC President Thomas Bach, the suspension period is still open.
On January 25, 2023, the IOC announced that it was considering the possibility of allowing Russian athletes who did not support the conduct of a special operation on the territory of Ukraine to participate in international competitions in a neutral status. In addition, Western countries demanded clarification to determine the neutral status for the Russians. The definitive list of necessary requirements has not yet been established and disclosed.
On March 23, Bach made another statement regarding the Russian participation in the 2024 Olympic Games. He believes that such an opportunity should be given to them and urged not to treat athletes from Russia as carriers of collective guilt.
On March 28, the IOC Executive Committee was held, which, as expected, will discuss the participation of Russians and Belarusians in the 2024 Olympic Games. However, Bach, at a press conference after the results of the executive committee, said that this issue was not even brought to the agenda and all sanctions against Russian sports remained in force. At the same time, individual athletes can perform in the international arena with neutral status.
formerly Gazizov spoke About the possible transition of Russian football to Asia.