Two-time Olympic hockey champion and State Duma deputy Vyacheslav Fetisov commented on the statement by German Interior Minister Nancy Feser, who threatened to deny visas to Russian athletes if the International Olympic Committee (IOC) allowed them to compete.
“So let’s remember the 1936 Summer and Winter Olympic Games held in Nazi Germany on the eve of the bloodiest war in human history. At the same time, all athletes were granted visas. These are double standards. And weren’t those Olympics the propaganda of an ideology that would cause so much suffering to all people in the future?
If I were officials from Germany, I would generally refrain from commenting on such a subject. This once again confirms that sport is no longer an ambassador of peace for them. They make international sport hostage to their decisions. It will not lead to anything good, ”says Fetisov mk.ru.
Recall that at the end of February 2022, the International Olympic Committee made an appeal to international sports federations and advised not to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in any competitions.
At a meeting of the IOC executive committee on March 28, it was recommended that the Russians be allowed a neutral status if the athletes did not actively support the hostilities. Athletes representing law enforcement and armed forces will not be allowed to compete.
Formerly Vyacheslav Fetisov remembered About the transition from the National Hockey League (NHL) to the New Jersey Devils.