The list of sports sanctions against Russia is growing. After the Champions League final relocated from Saint Petersburg to the Stade de France, the cancellation of the Ski World Cups and European basketball matches on Russian territory, the International Biathlon Federation (IBU) announced this Saturday exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes from World Cup events. A decision that follows the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, supported by Belarus.
The IBU specifies that the biathletes concerned will however be able to compete under a neutral banner. This means they will appear without their country’s flag, colors or anthem. They will also not be able to score points in the team events.
The Beijing Olympics over, and prolific for tricolor biathlon, there are three World Cup events left before the end of the season: Kontiolahti (Finland, March 3 to 6), Otepää (Estonia, March 10 to 13) and Oslo (Norway, March 17 to 20). Note that Estonia now refuses access to its territory to Russians and Belarusians.