Russia’s volleyball players lost the Olympic finals in the summer of 2021. They wanted to win gold at the 2022 home World Cup. But it is now taking place in another country and without her.
Foto: imago images/Sergei Bobylev
The orienteers made the start. Even though their sport is not Olympic, their world governing body is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). And so he was the first to ban all athletes from Russia from participating in his competitions on Monday in response to the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. The remarkable thing was that at that time the IOC had not asked the international sports federations to take such a step. If it had stayed with the orienteers, the sporting power Russia would have easily endured it. But a few hours later the dam broke.
Ever since the IOC officially recommended on Monday evening that athletes and officials from Russia and its wartime partner Belarus should be excluded from international competitions, sports federations after sports federations have put this suggestion into practice. The world football association Fifa and the European football union Uefa will no longer allow the Russians to play in qualifying for the men’s World Cup. The same fate meets the women’s team, which had already qualified for the European Championships in England in the summer. Uefa wants to decide later who the Netherlands, Switzerland and Sweden should play against in their preliminary round group. For years, the leaders at Fifa and the IOC in particular have been accused of being too close to Russia. In fact, many associations have repeatedly held back with criticism of Russia as a world power in sports.
So what is happening now is nothing less than a turning point. Russia no longer belongs to the sports world: the Euroleague, Europe’s top basketball league, suspended all Russian teams. Europe’s handball federation excluded clubs and national teams from Russia and Belarus. Then came the end for both countries at the Men’s Ice Hockey World Championships, which will be held in Finland in May. The ice skating association ISU followed suit on Tuesday. Russia’s figure skating team actually wanted to defend three titles at the World Championships in France at the end of March. Nothing will come of it now.
Other sports federations followed suit. This also applies to volleyball players, who had long avoided harsh sanctions, after all, Russia was supposed to host this year’s men’s World Cup with 24 teams in ten cities. The Russians allegedly paid several million Swiss francs to the FIVB for the bid, which will probably have to be returned after the withdrawal. But the pressure had become too great when five major national teams, including world champions Poland and Olympic champions France, threatened to boycott them. Embarrassingly, the withdrawal of the German Volleyball Association was only announced an hour after Russia lost the World Cup. Now the FIVB has the problem of having to find a safe new organizer quickly. Poland is said to have offered itself, but it is also close to the war zone.
The swimming association Fina tried to go another way on Tuesday: It only banned athletes from competing under the flags of Russia and Belarus. This in turn led to boycott calls to all other nations on social media. The Ski World Association Fis had experienced something similar. After Norway threatened not to let any Russian athletes compete in the upcoming World Cups in ski jumping, combined, alpine and cross-country skiing, the Fis buckled and also followed the IOC recommendation.
Other associations initially took their time. By Tuesday afternoon it had not yet been decided whether Russian tennis professionals could continue to play on the ATP and WTA tours. Above all, however, the sports world is waiting for the International Paralympic Committee, which will not decide until this Wednesday whether athletes from Russia and Belarus are allowed to compete in the Paralympics, which begin on Friday in Beijing.
Russian sports officials had previously reacted with outrage to the collective ban. Stanislav Pozdnyakov, President of the Russian Olympic Committee, said in a statement: “The IOC’s recommendation goes against the Charter and the spirit of the Olympic movement, which should unite and not divide, especially when it comes to equal participation of athletes in competitions.” The IOC had questioned the very equality when Russian athletes could start anywhere, but not Ukrainian ones because they either take shelter in basements or are conscripted by the army to defend their country, like world-class biathletes Dmytro Pidruchnyj and Yulia Dzhyma.
Nevertheless, Russia’s football association says his exclusion violates “sportsmanship and fair play”. It is “discriminatory”, affects many athletes and millions of fans, whose interests should have priority in sports organizations.
The rare sports world thinks differently. It’s a war and entertaining fans is no longer important. At the latest, sport is no longer apolitical. Thousands of athletes demanded visible signs against the war from their associations. They will now be set.
