Federations Line Up To Sanction Russia
Several international sports federations have announced fresh sanctions on Russian teams, athletes and events following the Kremlin’s decision to invade Ukraine last week.
Numerous federations followed in the footsteps of the likes of the International Olympic Committee and FIFA in imposing the measures, with confirmation arriving yesterday (1st March) from the FIA, motorsport’s governing body, that this year’s Russian Formula One Grand Prix (pictured), scheduled for September, has been cancelled.
The FIA also said that its World Motor Sport Council had decided to allow Russian and Belarusian drivers to compete under a neutral flag, although many other federations have gone further in applying outright bans to representatives of the two nations.
The International Cycling Union (UCI) suspended all Russian and Belarusian teams from competition with immediate effect, including the Gazprom-RusVelo team, while athletes from the two countries have been barred from competing by the governing bodies of biathlon (IBU), skating (ISU) and shooting sport (ISSF), as well as World Sailing and World Triathlon.
Meanwhile, the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) confirmed that it had banned Russian teams and officials from competitions until further notice.
World Sailing echoed the thoughts of several federations by stating, “By implementing these measures, World Sailing is supporting a united and coordinated approach within the global sports movement. This decision is in line with the IOC Executive Board’s recommendation, aimed at preserving the integrity of competitions and ensuring the safety of all participants.”
Arguably the most significant move in the community of international federations came at the FIE, fencing’s global governing body, where Alisher Usmanov, who was elected unopposed for a fourth term as President in November, stepped down.
Usmanov, one of the Russian oligarchs to be sanctioned by the European Union for alleged ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, called the “restrictive measures” imposed on him by the continental organisation “unfair”.
Image: Rubin16 (CC BY-SA 4.0): edited for size
