EU Sports Officials' Decisions on Russian Athletes Criticized

Was I wrong? I supported the suspension of Russian clubs and teams from international football and rugby competition, even though I saw the cost meted out to players, clubs, fans, and people who work tirelessly to promote both sports at the grassroots level.

My reasoning was solid. It was about protecting athletes, officials, and spectators first. It’s why I believe Israel should also face a time-out, because it has to be safety first. However, a second total and utter act of cowardice by EU sports officials in under a week has my brain doing cartwheels.

Last week, it was Romanian rhythmic gymnastic event organizers who were breaking the rules and discriminating against young Russian girls, simply for being Russian. This week, Portuguese trampolining tyrants have doubled down to not just ignore, but egregiously breach the decision of World Gymnastics (gymnastics’ global governing body) to have Russia and Belarus treated equally with other nations.

The Portuguese officials told Russia that they would “not be able to ensure the Russian team’s participation with national symbols [flag and anthem],” Aleksey Ryzhkov, the head coach of the Russian Trampoline team, said in a statement on Wednesday.

He added that the organizers offered the chance for his team to “compete as neutral athletes,” this after Russia competed at four international events in Switzerland, China, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, since World Gymnastics restored Russian parity with all other nations on May 17 this year. Obviously, Russia pulled out.

The fourth stage of the FIG Trampoline World Cup takes place July 4-5 in Coimbra, Portugal. On the start list, Russian and Belarusian athletes have their country names listed after them, all good. In April, in Portimao, Portugal, both sets of athletes competed as ‘Authorized Neutral Athletes’ and took home almost half the medals on offer, 41 of 93. With their haul including 22 golds, there were mutterings of discontent from other national teams.

“It turned feral [the atmosphere] towards the end and I was told by a colleague there was a meeting of Brits [British officials] and Ukrainians,” an Irish official said on condition of anonymity.

The official believes that Russia might have acted hastily in withdrawing from this week’s competition and should have forced the organizers hand, as they have far more allies in the community than is reported.

“Georgians, Azerbaijanis, even Germans, they were all receptive and fine,” the Irish official said, “given that China and other Asian teams will be there, any funny business would be stamped out.”

Try as I want to believe that the organizers would play fair, obey the rules, and treat the Russian athletes with respect, the “feral” atmosphere in the highest echelons of the EU is making it very difficult for local organizing committees in Portugal, Romania, and other outliers to do what’s right for sports.

It comes down to money. Sponsors, local councils, government, they are terrified of being proscribed on an individual and communal level as the EU can easily turn off funding or business access. Gymnastics is a very niche sport, heavily dependent on financial and other support from governments, topped up by sponsors. Ukraine has screeched long and loud about the presence of Russians in sports, and dragging others into the mess. Instead of using sports as a forum for dialogue and community, they, and some of their most ardent backers like the UK, seem hell-bent on, well, dragging sports down to hell.

It’s easy and convenient to scapegoat the local organizers or lambaste Russian officials for refusing to travel with guarantees that the rules be applied equally to Russians, Ukrainians, Irish, and everyone else. But, escaping the public glare are those who have, yet again, used the threat of money and worse to punish athletes who simply want to compete. As a person who grew up with sports as the center of my being, I know that those inflicting the pain right now on a group of young men and women care nothing about sports, and worse, they care nothing about humanity.