Should Russian athletes take part in the Olympics under a neutral flag? Games - Olympic and political. Will acquitted Russians go to Pyeongchang? Will Russian athletes take part in the Olympics?
As in the summer of 2016 in Rio, all attention is focused on court hearings. Then, we recall, lawyers up to the last defended the rights of some of our athletes to speak at Summer Games. Now the scale of the proceedings is even more significant. The mobile branch of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ad hoc, which is located directly in Pyeongchang on an expedited basis, is overwhelmed with work so much that yesterday it did not have time to make a decision on two fundamental issues. 32 Russian athletes, including our stars and contenders for Olympic medals represented by biathlete Anton Shipulin, skier Sergei Ustyugov, short track skater Viktor Ahn and other iconic athletes filed appeals against their non-invitation to the Olympics. These cases were supplemented by 15 more applications from those Russians whom CAS had already found not guilty of violating anti-doping rules and restored their results to last Olympics, removing in parallel a life-long disqualification from participation in the Games. All these applications will begin to be considered on the morning of February 8.
The situation is, of course, paradoxical. On the one hand, the International Olympic Committee long ago proclaimed CAS to be the highest sports authority. Its decisions are binding, according to the Olympic Charter. But at the same time, the IOC itself, in fact, violates this charter. After all, if you think logically, then what problems can be caused by inviting athletes whose reputation has been completely restored, and their guilt has been officially recognized as unproven by the highest sports authority? Athletes are clean, calmly take part in the World Cups, World and European Championships, and other important competitions. The international federations for specific sports have no claims against them. But for some reason they are not expected at the Olympics? .
The head of the IOC in Korea answers journalists' questions on a daily basis. So today he held a press conference at the main media center. But the head of the Olympic movement could not tell us anything new. He only said that he hoped to get a CAS verdict as soon as possible. And he denied the suggestion that his department is putting pressure on the court.
Everything that CAS does is a completely different story, which does not concern the sanctions against Russia, adopted by the IOC Executive Board on December 5th. They determine whether Russian athletes should be granted the privilege of being invited to participate in the Olympics under the Olympic Charter, Bach said.
At the same time, just a couple of days ago, he also openly regretted the acquittal of 28 Russians in the CAS. And he threatened to reform the Court of Arbitration for Sport. What is this if not pressure? Especially when you consider that it is the IOC that is one of the co-founders of CAS and its important, although not the only, financial beneficiary. The judges caught the signal quickly, saying in response that they were ready to consider the issues of reform. So one can only guess how much these attacks will leave CAS free to make a very important decision for many of our athletes. I would like to hope that all the same, the trial will be objective. At least the day before in Sportivny arbitration court stated that no later than February 8, the IOC is obliged to provide written documents on the non-admission of Russians to the 2018 Olympics.
If the Russians' appeals to the CAS are satisfied, they will be guaranteed participation in Winter Games
Another important piece of news is that any CAS decision taken now will be final. If the Russians' appeals are upheld, they will be guaranteed participation in the Winter Games. This was emphasized yesterday by the secretary general of the organization, Mathieu Ribe. By the way, the only one who spoke to reporters on Wednesday with official comments from CAS. "There will be no other processes," Reeb explained.
In Pyeongchang, meanwhile, it is noticeably warmer. After almost 20-degree frosts, which, in the absence of snow, looked rather eerie, the thermometer crept up to -7 the day before. Let's hope that soon it will get warmer not only on the street, but also in the soul.
At a meeting of the executive committee of the International Olympic Committee, held on December 5, it was decided to remove the Russian team from participation in the 2018 Games. At the same time, athletes who were not noticed in the use of doping were allowed to compete under neutral flag- in the status of "Olympians from Russia". The IOC will also bear all expenses for the participation of our athletes.
President of Russia Vladimir Putin stated that the Russian authorities would not interfere with the participation of athletes in the Olympics in a neutral status. A similar statement was made by the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Vitaly Mutko, against whom sanctions were imposed at the same meeting, he is banned for life from attending the Olympics as an official.
As a result, each athlete must make the final decision on participation. And opinions are divided here. Someone considers the performance under a neutral flag humiliating for themselves, others are sure that they need to go all the way and show what Russian athletes are capable of. Opinion on this score "POLITSIBRU" asked the experts.
"Sport must win"
Alexander Prokopiev, MP State Duma from Altai Territory, Member of the Committee on Physical Culture, Sports, Tourism and Youth Affairs:
“The IOC has made a decision. Many call it a political provocation, they even talk about a possible boycott. Emotions are running high, but you need to pull yourself together and make an informed decision. On Friday, the State Duma will discuss a draft response statement. Now we are preparing the translation of the IOC decision. This is a legal document, precise wording is important, every word matters. I think that in any case, sport should win. And if athletes want to take part in the Olympics, they need to be given the opportunity. We will be proud of their victories."
“Doping controllers won’t let them live in peace”
Tatyana Ilyuchenko, Honored Master of Sports of Russia in cross-country skiing, medalist of the 2002 Paralympic Games, winner and medalist of the 2006 Paralympic Games, deputy of the regional Legislative Assembly, chairman of the committee on social policy:
“I think that our athletes should participate in any case. Even if they compete under a neutral flag, everyone knows that they are Russian athletes. The only thing is that there will be serious pressure on the guys. Doping controllers will not let them live in peace. However, we have seen from the World Cup athletics when our federation was not allowed, and athletes, including Sergey Shubenkov, showed serious results and everyone knew that they were Russian athletes. What is happening as a whole resembles a comedy of the absurd, such a priori should not be in the Olympic movement.”
Natalya Kuvshinova, Deputy of the State Duma from the Altai Territory, member of the Committee on Physical Culture, Sports, Tourism and Youth Affairs:
“The IOC decision seriously undermines the credibility of Olympic Movement. On behalf of the profile committee of the State Duma, we have already requested the decision of the IOC, the translation. Meetings will be held today and tomorrow with representatives of all factions, with the committee on international affairs. Then the final decision will be submitted to the plenary session of the State Duma, and on Friday morning it will be considered, each faction will be able to express its position and, based on the results, an appropriate appeal will be adopted. Whether or not our athletes take part in the Olympics should ask those responsible for this decision, for this it is worth waiting for the decision of the ROC on December 12 on this issue.
"It's up to every athlete"
Vladimir Alt, Head of the Center sports training and head of the Olympic Council of the Altai Territory":
“I believe that this is the business of every athlete. The problem is: athletes can be told: “Fly as you want,” referring to monetary costs. In addition, there are a number of deputies who are in favor of not participating in the Games. But if we boycott them, then we will have to miss two Olympic cycles. So boycott is the worst option. Athletes should be given the right to participate, especially "clean" ones. Here at Shubenkov in London the situation was even more complicated. Then even ringtones with the Russian anthem were banned. But he spoke, everyone remembered him, even bonuses were later given. Therefore, participation in the Games, I think, will only benefit the athletes. I don’t see such severe restrictions yet, as they were at the World Championships in Athletics.”
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) allowed Russian athletes to participate in the 2018 Olympics under a neutral flag. This was reported on the website of the IOC.
Russians at the 2018 Olympics will be represented as "Olympic Athletes from Russia" (OAR), the IOC notes. They will compete in sportswear with this inscription and under Olympic flag. During the awards ceremony, the Olympic anthem will be played, not the Russian one. The final decision on the admission of a Russian athlete will be made by a special commission of representatives of WADA, DFSU (Doping Free Sport Unit) and the IOC.
Former Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko and his former deputy Yuri Nagornykh have been permanently banned from participating in all future Olympics in any capacity, the IOC said. Former CEO of the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee Dmitry Chernyshenko (aka CEO of Gazprom Media) from the Coordinating Commission for the 2022 Winter Olympics, the same source says. And that's not all: not a single employee of the Russian Ministry of Sports will be able to be accredited for the 2018 Olympics, and the president of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), Alexander Zhukov, has been suspended from participation in the IOC.
In addition, the IOC ROC will transfer $15 million to create a global anti-doping system. The ROC will have to reimburse the IOC for expenses that the committee incurred due to investigations related to doping by Russian athletes.
The decision of the IOC was adopted by consensus, IOC President Thomas Bach said, Interfax reports.
The neutral flag (also called white) is the flag Olympic Games with five rings. Russian athletes have already competed under a neutral flag - as part of a joint team in 1992 at the Winter Olympics in Albertville and the Summer Games in Barcelona. Then the combined team included athletes from the former republics of the USSR, which collapsed in December 1991. Unofficially, the team was called the “CIS team”. At the Summer Olympics, she took first place in the overall medal standings, and at the Winter Olympics - second, winning Olympic gold hockey.
Reaction
Press Secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov did not answer the question of Vedomosti whether the Kremlin would give recommendations to Russian athletes regarding their participation or non-participation in the Pyeongchang Olympics on the terms proposed by the IOC.
Earlier, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the Kremlin will remain silent until the official decision of the IOC. The possibility of a boycott of the Olympics is not discussed, Peskov noted.
A Channel One representative declined to comment on whether the channel would now broadcast the 2018 Olympics. All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company confirmed that it will not show the Olympics without the national team. The representative of Gazprom-Media (manages the Match-TV sports channel) said that the Olympics without Russian athletes would not be so interesting to the audience, and declined to comment further.
background
At a meeting on the admission of Russia to the IOC Olympics, consider the conclusions of two commissions that were created to study the data of the independent commission of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) on doping in Russian sports. One, led by Swiss lawyer Denis Oswald, is rechecking doping samples from the 2014 Sochi Olympics. The other is investigating the involvement of the Russian Ministry of Sports in the doping system in Russia.
In mid-November, WADA enforced the disqualification of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA), whose accreditation was withdrawn in 2015. One of the main requirements for Russia is to unconditionally recognize the findings of the McLaren Commission on the existence of a state doping system. The Russian side did not fulfill it. Russian President Vladimir Putin accuses Russia of the upcoming elections.
How it all started
Three years ago, in December 2014, the German TV channel ARD aired the documentary Top Secrets of Doping: How Russia Produces its Winners. It contains the former Chief Specialist RUSADA Vitaly Stepanov and his wife Yulia Stepanova, who was disqualified in 2013 for doping, spoke about several cases of use by athletes from Russia. WADA then set up a commission in early 2015 to investigate. The first results of the work were published in November 2015: the commission concluded that All-Russian Federation Athletics, RUSADA and Russia as a whole do not comply with the rules of the World Anti-Doping Code. It was then that WADA withdrew the accreditation from RUSADA.
After this report, another investigation into the use of doping by Russian athletes began - it was conducted by a commission led by Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren. The first part was published in July 2016, the second in December of the same year. Then the commission concluded that in Russia at least from 2012 to 2015 there was a state doping program. For example, on test tubes with doping tests of Russian athletes, scratches were found, and in the biomaterial - an increased content of salt or DNA of another person. Athletes' tests were swapped between 2012 and 2014, including at the Sochi Olympics, according to the McLaren report. These manipulations took place under the control of the Ministry of Sports and the FSB of Russia, it is said in the same place.
WADA's chief informant in the doping case in Russian sports, whose testimony formed the basis of the McLaren report, is the former head of the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory. In 2016, he moved to the United States, and in May he gave an interview to The New York Times: he said that he participated in the substitution of about 100 urine samples of Russian athletes during the 2014 Olympics, and also admitted that he himself developed a cocktail of three anabolic steroids for Russian athletes, which they took at the Olympics.
The Russian national team was suspended from participation in the 2018 Winter Olympics. Russian athletes will be able to perform in Pyeongchang only in a neutral status without the right to use national paraphernalia. This decision was made by the International Olympic Committee on Tuesday, December 5. How Russia will react to the decision of the IOC will be clear on December 12th.
The IOC's decision came as no surprise.
Should athletes who are still allowed to the Olympics compete at the Games in South Korea? This issue is being actively discussed today, probably all over the world. According to Alexander Zhukov, chairman of the Russian Olympic Committee, the final decision on participation in the Games will be made on December 12 at the Olympic meeting "with the participation of athletes - candidates for participation in the Olympics, coaches and representatives of federations." It is reported by TASS. However, the state has no right to influence the opinions of athletes, each of those who have passed the Olympic selection will take independent solution. These are the rules of the IOC.
Many Russian athletes noted that the IOC's decision was expected, as evidenced by the revision of the Sochi results and the disqualification of individual athletes. At the same time, the message about the removal of Russia from the Games divided the Russian public into two camps. Someone believes that it is necessary to categorically refuse to speak at the Olympics, others are of the opinion that it is necessary to speak, having answered the ban with a victory.
The head of the Ski Jumping Federation, Dmitry Dubrovsky, believes that athletes must go and fight not only for themselves, but also for those who are suspended. “For the leaders of the federations, it makes no sense to go, but not for the athletes,” TASS quoted him as saying. Agree with him twice Olympic champion, Russian biathlete Sergey Chepikov, who asked the fans not to condemn the athletes who decide to compete under a neutral flag at the Olympics.
A member of the Presidium of the Russian Freestyle Federation, Petros Gasparyan, called the decision of the IOC on the 2018 Olympics a humiliation. This is also reported by TASS. According to Gasparyan, Russia was equated with representatives of unrecognized countries, since it is they who act under the neutral flag of the IOC. First Vice Speaker of the State Duma Ivan Melnikov also said that Russian athletes should not go to the Olympics under a neutral flag.
Andrey Klishas, Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation, told RIA Novosti that the IOC's decision is contrary to the principles of international law and is political in nature. According to the senator, sport has once again become a victim of political speculation and destructive attempts of international pressure on Russia. We add that the decision of the IOC to ban the participation of Russian athletes in the 2018 Olympic Games under the flag of their country can be challenged in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which is located in Lausanne, Switzerland. An individual athlete, coach, sports official, as well as an international or national sports organization can apply to CAS.
Leonid Oder: “We must go and sing the Russian anthem live on the top step of the Olympic podium”
According to the minister physical culture and sports of the Chelyabinsk region Leonid Oder, the decision of the IOC to suspend the Olympic team of our country is a really humiliating decision for us.
- As for the performance of our athletes under a neutral flag, each athlete must decide for himself whether he is ready for this. Naturally, no one can deprive a person of the dream of competing at the Olympics, but how comfortable it will be for the athletes themselves, how they will feel legitimate there, is another question, - Leonid Oder noted in a conversation with Gubernia.
More than 10 athletes of the Chelyabinsk region had a chance to get into the Olympic team, go to South Korea and defend the honor of the region and the country there. Many prepared for this Olympics as the main start of life. According to Leonid Oder, once again political games prevented our athletes from adequately representing the country at the Games.
According to a sports official, on December 12 in Moscow, every federation, every member of the national Olympic team and his personal coach will make a difficult decision.
- But, in my opinion, the leaders need to go and compete for medals there in order to prove their strength Russian sports and sing the Russian anthem live on the top step of the Olympic podium! Leonid Oder emphasized.
Winner of numerous sports awards, a native of Trekhgorny judoka Kirill Denisov in a telephone conversation with a correspondent of "Gubernia" he shared his opinion that the issue of the participation of Russian athletes in the Olympics is difficult, but still you have to go.
- Many people are rooting not for any specific athletes, but for the flag, the country. On the other hand, this is the individual life of every athlete who has been preparing for this Olympics all his life, he has a chance that he should use. It's hard, but I'm more inclined to believe that an athlete should go to the Olympics even under a neutral flag, - the athlete commented on the situation. - I understand the Olympians both as an athlete and as a fan. And I will still support our Russians, who will represent our country under a neutral flag. My opinion is that you need to go in spite of everyone and not succumb to the provocations of those who want the Olympic Games to be held without the participation of Russia.
Many South Ural residents also expressed their opinion on this matter. "Gubernia" conducted a survey on social networks, asking: "Should Russian athletes participate in the 2018 Olympics under a neutral flag or not?"
INVladimir Strelnikov, director of the newspaper "Miass worker":
- This is exactly what they wanted - to split the society, and we will play along with them? Responsibility for decisions should be individual, not collective.
Vladimir Filichkin, human rights activist:
It is up to each athlete to decide for himself. It is wrong for us to decide for them.
Olga Sukinova, editor of the Metro newspaper:
- Yes, we must go. Sports career too short to waste several years of preparation due to political squabbles.
Oleg Lastochkin, journalist:
– Definitely not. We were spat in the face, once again, by the way... And there is no need to prove anything to anyone. Respect deserves VGTRK, which promises not to show the Olympics.
Elena Revnyakova, director of the newspaper Arguments and Facts-Chelyabinsk:
- Necessary! Why should an honest athlete, who has put everything into achieving a result and is ready to show what he has achieved in the main competition, give up this because of the decision of the officials?
Oleg Bakhtinov, trainer:
- My word is not decisive, but ... NO!
Elena Vashkevich, editor of the Zvezda newspaper:
- No. Standing up for oneself, not for the country - this is a split in society ...
Sergey Tkachev:
Everything is very debatable. From an athlete's point of view, everything is clear. He staked everything. He wants to show results. And he has a choice. As he decides, so be it. However, this athlete used the services of a coach, material resources, and so on. Who paid for all this? And now the payer is being told to get out of the Olympic Games. I think so: let the willing athletes participate. We will cheer for them. But since there is no Russian flag, then no prize money from the state. No state at the Games - no prize money. And athletes who refuse to participate in the Games should receive financial compensation from the state.
Oleg Stroganov, director of the Chelyabinsk sports school "Konas":
– Perform and win! It's not the clothes that matter, but the state of mind!