Sanctions from the sports world continue to apply to Russia, which invaded Ukraine, and Belarus, which supports Russia.
The International Skating Union (ISU) announced on the 1st (Korean time) a disciplinary action once morest Russia for the invasion of Ukraine and Belarusians who support Russia. The ISU said, “According to the recommendations of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), we have decided not to allow athletes belonging to the Russian and Belarusian Ice Skating Federations to participate in international competitions. The ISU added, “The sanctions remain in effect until a further board decision is made. On the 1st, the IOC recommended that the International Federations (IFs) for each sport and the organizing committees of various events not approve the invitation or participation in international competitions of Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials.
The ISU also banned Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing as neutrals. As a result, athletes from Russia and Belarus will not be able to participate in the ISU Figure Skating World Championships, Speed Skating World Championships and Short Track World Championships in March 2021-2022. The World Championships is a major event held once a year and is the second largest international event following the Winter Olympics.
The Russian figure skating singles trio Anna Sherbakova, Alexandra Trusova and Camilla Balieva, who drew attention during the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, will also be restricted from participating. Sherbakova won a gold medal at the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, Trusova won a silver medal, and Baliyeva took her world by storm with her doping scandal. Balieva was tested last December for her banned substance, trimazidine, in a doping test, but she was rescued by the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) before she competed at the Beijing Winter Olympics. According to Russian media Sport, Russian journalists are also restricted from participating in the World Championships because they have not been approved for coverage.
Yoo-Young (Surigo) and Kim Ye-Rim (Dankook University) are expected to win world championship medals due to the absence of Russian athletes. In the women’s singles figure skating event at the Beijing Winter Olympics, Yooyoung placed 6th and Yerim Kim finished 9th. In particular, sherbakova, Trusova, Kaori Sakamoto (Japan), Baliyeva and Higuchi Wakaba (Japan) were the only athletes who scored higher in the Beijing Winter Olympics than swimming. The World Figure Skating Championships will be held in Montpellier, France from the 21st to the 27th.
Meanwhile, Russia is also expelled from the soccer game. According to the British media BBC on the 3rd, EA Sports, a game developer, decided to delete both the Russian national team and Russian professional soccer clubs from their soccer game ‘FIFA 22’. “We are in solidarity with the Ukrainian people,” EA Sports said in a statement. Russia is the second country to delete existing data from FIFA 22 by EA Sports, following Mason Greenwood (Manchester United) last month. Greenwood was arrested in January on charges of sexual assault and assault.
Reporter Heo Jong-ho
