Russian President Vladimir Putin believes that there is no need to suspend Israeli athletes, despite the events in the Gaza Strip during the direct line.
“In this context, you just mentioned Israel, Israeli athletes, despite the events in Gaza, if I somehow supported this now, then I would be like these international sports officials. “Sports are outside politics and are designed to unite people,” Putin said.
Israeli athletes continue to participate in international tournaments following the escalation of military conflict in the Gaza Strip. In some team sports, Israelis play home matches abroad.
On February 28, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) appealed to international sports federations, recommending that domestic and Belarusian athletes not be allowed to participate in any competitions due to the situation in Ukraine. In addition, many competitions in which foreign athletes participated were moved from Russia. Later, the IOC allowed Russians to participate in the Olympics as neutral athletes.
Putin before named The actions of international sports officials distort the idea of peace.