Sports commentator and TV presenter Dmitry Guberniev talked about his attitude towards Russian athletes who changed their sports citizenship. He shared his opinion with him “Match TV”.
“Russian athletes are not keen on transfers, we have to give them their due. But my attitude towards those who will cross over is this: I will not consider them traitors, what kind of nonsense is this, a return to a monstrous era? A person is looking for where he is better.
Many countries will oppose Russian athletes competing for other teams. Preconditions are being created for the departure of athletes – this is true, but the question is whether they will leave or not. I think it will happen, but not en masse,” Guberniev said.
On November 29, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) approved the change of sports citizenship of Valeria Lyubimova, Mikhail Yakovlev and Georgy Tibilov without the approval of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) and without the standard three-year quarantine.
In 2022, against the background of the start of SVO in Ukraine, the president of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach recommended that international federations exclude Russian athletes from international competitions. On January 25, 2023, the IOC announced that it was considering the possibility of allowing Russian athletes who do not support the holding of the SBO to participate in international competitions in a neutral status.
On October 12, 2023, the IOC announced the suspension of the PRC until further notice, following the inclusion of the Olympic Councils of the DPR, LPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions in the Russian organization. The IOC also stated that it reserves the right to make a decision at the necessary time on the admission of Russian athletes to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Previously at IOC statedthat they see no logic in the organization’s actions against Russians.