The President of the International Association of Athletics Federations, British Sebastian Coe, confirmed on Sunday that his position on the sanctions imposed on Russia by the international body supervising the Mother of the Games has not changed.
The Russian Football Federation had filed a new lawsuit before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to challenge the International Federation’s sanctions, demanding: Not only will Russian athletes be allowed to participate in order to qualify for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics; But also to restore his rights.
The International Federation announced in July the maintenance of the ban imposed on Russian and Belarusian athletes, which was implemented in March 2022 following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian Athletics Federation confirms that these sanctions are “selective and politicized.” He said: “The current restrictions violate the organization’s rights and prevent it from fully representing the interests of Russian athletes at the international level.”
The International Olympic Committee announced that Russian athletes will be allowed to compete in team sports and qualifiers for the Los Angeles Olympics.
IOC President Kirsty Coventry said: “We have made clear that we want to ensure that all athletes have the opportunity to participate in the Olympic Games, and that they do not bear responsibility for the actions of their governments.”
Ukraine criticized the International Olympic Committee's decision regarding Russian participation in the Los Angeles Olympics, describing it as "premature and lacking foundations," at a time when the war resulting from the Russian invasion continues for the fifth year.
The position of the International Association of Athletics Federations, headed by Ko, who won two Olympic gold medals in the 1,500-meter race, differs from the positions of other Olympic sports federations.
For example, the International Gymnastics and Skating Federations have eased restrictions on Russian athletes.
Coe, 69 years old, said on the sidelines of the first edition of the Ultimate Championship in Budapest, on Sunday, that he still fully believes in the policy of the International Association of Athletics Federations.
The Briton added: “First, our position has not changed. This is not about politics or passports; Rather, with the integrity of competition.”
He added: “Since I was eighteen years old, I have believed in this. “Every position I took - whether during the creation of the first IOC Athletes Commission, or the positions I took personally - was about integrity and about competition.”
He continued: “This is important to me, so our position will not change.”
Coe said last month that he intended to appear personally before the Court of Arbitration for Sport to defend this position.
But the Executive Director of the Russian Federation, Boris Yaryshevsky, said in an interview with the Russian “TASS” agency, last week, that Ko exceeded the limits of political neutrality with this statement.
He added: “It is very clear that he has something personal. It no longer speaks for the IAAF as an international federation. "He is speaking for himself, saying that he will personally go to court to defend this."
He continued: “I think this is just his personal position, and not the position of the International Association of Athletics Federations.”
On Sunday, Coe acknowledged the necessity of finding a solution to this impasse, and said: “Yes, this issue must be resolved, and I fully understand that.”
He added: “It is important. “We want full participation of world-class athletes in our sport, and that should be our overall goal, and of course it is.”
Brazilian Alisson Becker, Liverpool's goalkeeper, admitted that his team needs to reach the "right mentality" if it wants to achieve something exceptional this season.
Liverpool failed to show the same strength and intensity that it showed during its victory over Atletico Madrid in the Champions League a few days ago, after it settled for a goalless draw with its guest Fulham in a frustrating match at Anfield, on Saturday, in the English Premier League football competitions.
Although the result kept Liverpool undefeated in the English Premier League, it was not a compensation for the lackluster performance, and the Brazilian goalkeeper stressed that the team is required to raise its level to deal with the pressure of successive matches.
Alisson told the club’s official website: “It is clear that playing on Wednesday evening and then Saturday evening represents a great challenge, and we have another match on Tuesday.”
The British PA Media agency quoted Allison as saying: “We have to have the appropriate mentality to deal with this, and I think this was not present today.” "We have to improve in the next match."
He continued: “This is the challenge faced by all the big teams participating in all competitions. If we want to achieve something exceptional this season, we have to deal with this matter.”
He explained: “This is what we want, but we need the right mentality.” I think it wasn't there in what we presented yesterday. It's deep inside us, we just need to show it. We have quality, and we have a number of distinguished players, but we have to exert more energy on the field during the upcoming matches.”
Liverpool participated for the first time in a match in the English Premier League with an attacking line consisting of 3 players, each player worth about 100 million pounds sterling, consisting of Bradley Barkula, Alexander Isak, and Florian Wirtz, but the trio did not make a significant impact.
On the other hand, Fulham, which entered the match without any points from its first three matches, was the most active team, and deserved to get a draw point.
Fulham was even close to achieving victory, after a mistake by Alisson caused confusion inside the penalty area, but Jeremy Jacquet cleared the ball over the goal line after Gonzalo Garcia's shot.
Alisson said: “It was a bad performance, and in some moments it was like that for me as well.” Collectively, we didn't play well. “We tried to do many things, but we could not do them well.”
Liverpool may find some justification for the fact that the season is still at its beginning, and that coach Andoni Iraola has not spent a long time in his position, while his ideas and methods still need more time to take hold within the team, but Alisson warned of the need to reach harmony quickly.
The Brazilian goalkeeper explained: “It may take some time for us to adapt to this, but we have to do this as quickly as possible, because we do not have time to waste.”
He stressed: “We are not happy at all with the draw, as this is not something that should happen with Liverpool. Undefeated with 3 draws is not something worth celebrating too much in this shirt.”
Alisson concluded by saying: “We keep a clean sheet, but we are not happy.” We wanted the three points, and we have to aspire to achieve big things.”
