The president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the Greek Theodoros Rousopoulos, considers that the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the Paris Games, confirmed by the IOC, constitutes “an insult” to their colleagues in Ukraine.
“Russian and Belarusian athletes should not participate in the Paris Games,” Roosopoulos said in a statement published on Wednesday.
In his opinion, allowing them to compete “is an insult to Ukrainian athletes, many of whom died because of the war and most of whom cannot train properly because of the destruction of the sports infrastructure.”
A day after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) reiterated permission for Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the Paris Games, but vetoed their presence at the opening ceremony, the head of PACE criticized that decision because to the naive.
“I have heard some people say that athletes cannot be responsible for what their governments do. Let us not be naive. Any success of these athletes, even under a neutral flag , can be celebrated – and used – as a propaganda instrument to create a story of acceptance and normalization that minimizes the seriousness of the actions of the Russian and Belarusian governments,” he said.
Rousopoulos, recalling that last June PACE had asked to exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes, wondered if Russia could be “condemned for bombing Ukrainian civilians, kidnapping children, torturing prisoners, committing massacres” and despite all “applaud their athletes.”
He noted that many of them were “enlisted in the Russian Army” and most “received salaries from the State.”
In its decision, the IOC excluded Games athletes who were enlisted in the Army or who expressed themselves in favor of the invasion of Ukraine.
The president of this body of the Council of Europe, which brings together parliamentarians from 46 member countries, asked the IOC to be very strict in the application of its standards and “guaranteed that the participation of Russian and Belarusian citizens is will not be an instrument of propaganda”.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Jason Root, a professional writer working with Today Times Live, the premier news website. I specialize in sports writing, covering the biggest stories in the world of athletics. With an eye for detail and a passion for storytelling, I provide engaging and informative articles that capture the key elements of any event or issue. My work has been featured on numerous respected websites and publications around the world.
