Tutberidze messed up the hive
Russian coach Eteri Tutberidze’s speech on social networks sparked a wave of comments and reactions, prompting the International Skating Union (ISU) to refuse to play awards and update the ratings in the absence of Russian athletes.
In Russia, Tutberidze was supported, as expected. In the world, on the contrary, they denounced, pointing to a prohibited drug, on the example of figure skater Kamila Valieva.
ISU officials said that no one saw Tutberidze’s words as a serious proposal, that this was impossible in principle.
A few days later, the association published updated quotas for the next World Cup on its official website.
It turns out that the Russian team, who missed the 2022 World Cup due to the suspension that came into effect from the beginning, lost their maximum quota, as they could not confirm with the sports results, and now it will be possible. Putting only one athlete or duet in each program type.
At the same time, at the European Championships, the maximum quota (three participants in each event) was maintained, but only because they took part in the 2022 European Championships, where Russian athletes confirmed their sports performance.
If the Russian team is still suspended from international starts for the 2023 European Championship, the country will lose all additional quotas for the Euro.
for the sake of security
At the same time, athletes from Russia at the moment still do not have the right to compete in international competitions, and it is not clear whether they will receive it in the future.
“According to the unanimous decision of the ISU Congress, the suspension is permanent. In response to a request from RIA Novosti, the ISU said that these decisions are neither sanctions, disciplinary measures, nor non-compliance decisions, but are made solely in the interests of the safety of the participants and the integrity of the competition. Agency. “The ISU’s decision regarding the world ranking and world ranking is also permanent and will be in effect throughout the 2022/23 season, as are the ISU statutes and general rules, as well as special regulations and technical rules.”
logic crippled
After the start of the military special operation of the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine at the end of February, the head of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, called on international federations to deprive Russian athletes of the right to international competitions. arena.
Most organizations have done just that. ISU was no exception, initially suspending Russia until the end of last season, which led to the skipping of the World Championship and loss of current quota in accordance with regulations.
Prior to the new 2022/23 season, the suspension was confirmed and extended indefinitely.
However, the existing statements seemed controversial and illogical to many experts. According to ISU officials, Russia’s disqualification is determined solely for security reasons, not a sanction or disciplinary action. However, it is not clear who and what the officials of the organization will protect.
Perhaps we are talking about Russian athletes who can face aggression towards them? This is very similar to Wimbledon’s explanation of why Russian and Belarusian tennis players were not admitted to the most prestigious Grand Slam tournament.
Competitions in many sports show that there is no real threat to Russian athletes. Our hockey players are still loved even in the USA and Canada. Local legionnaires play in different clubs in other gaming sports, and Ian Nepomniachtchi recently felt good in Madrid during the Candidates’ Tournament to participate in the world chess crown match he won.
And the words about “competitive integrity” seem completely strange, because without the strongest team suspended for unsportsmanlike reasons, international tournaments lose that integrity.
In Russian figure skating circles, they believe that such statements undermine the organization’s credibility and only increase uncertainty. The problem with such formulations is that their logical contradictions are obvious. The International Skating Union does not want to see Russian skaters in their competitions because of Russian military special operations, hiding behind concerns for their safety rather than giving an honest answer.