Russian cyclist Danila Burlakov was unable to obtain neutral status from the International Cycling Union (UCI) to compete in international tournaments due to his service in the CSKA sports squad. This was reported by TASS the athlete’s coach Vladimir Khozov.
“After the athlete applied, he received a response from the UCI with screenshots from Instagram (the owner of the company Meta is known as an extremist and is banned in Russia) where he liked two posts with the symbol Z. In addition, information was found on the Internet that Burlakov belongs to CSKA.
In response, Danila sent a copy of the eighth page of the military ID, which shows the end date of compulsory military service. After Burlakov ensured everything, he was denied neutral status for various reasons,” Khozov said.
At the end of February 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) appealed to international sports federations, recommending that Russian and Belarusian athletes not be allowed to participate in any competitions.
At the meeting of the IOC Executive Committee on March 28, 2023, it was proposed to allow the Russians to remain in neutral status if the athletes are not actively involved in supporting military operations. The final decision on the admission of Russians to the Olympic Games has not yet been made.
Previously Guberniev supported Russia’s performance in international tournaments remains neutral.