Russians will be able to compete in judo under a neutral flag

The International Judo Federation (IJF) on Wednesday authorized the Russians to participate in its competitions under a neutral flag, without mentioning the Belarusians and rejecting the total exclusion decreed by much of the sports world.

“We believe that athletes participating in international sporting events promote international peace and solidarity,” the IJF argued in a statement Wednesday in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In the eyes of the institution of judo, “the global decision to sanction all Russian athletes, regardless of the different opinions that many have expressed, is not justified.”

In response to the call launched on Monday by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to the international federations to request the exclusion of Russians and Belarusians, the IJF estimates that a decision of this magnitude “would only increase the escalation of violence and fuel the sentiment of injustice of these athletes, who have not participated in any decision about the conflict”.

“We cannot condemn the athletes for what is happening,” resolves the organization, which authorizes Russians to participate in its tournaments “only under the IJF flag, logo and anthem.”

On the other hand, the IJF has canceled all the competitions planned on Russian soil, and suspended on Sunday the title of honorary president of the institution to Vladimir Putin, for whom judo is his fetish sport.

World judo thus joins tennis, swimming and fencing, which authorize Russian athletes under a neutral flag, unlike other sports such as football, rugby, athletics, skating, badminton, skiing or ice hockey, which have excluded to the Russians of all competitions.

cfe / add / dam / iga