Thorsten Burmester, Chairman of the German Olympic Sports Confederation, said that the unity in world sports is under threat.
“As members of the Olympic family, we see that the unity of world sport is under threat. Sport is not apolitical, it must be politicized to protect its legitimate interests. And he will have to face political realities over and over again. Perhaps as we enter a new era of systemic conflict in world sport, we will need clearer rules of the game and less fragmented actions,” said Burmester. sporchau.de.
Recall that at the end of February 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) made a call to international sports federations and recommended that Russian and Belarusian athletes not be allowed 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.
Ilgar Mammadov, former president of the Russian Fencing Federation (FFR) he said fencers don’t have a chance to make it to the olympics.