Vyacheslav Fetisov, a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, called the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) requirements for Russian athletes to compete arbitrary. The two-time Olympics winner also ridiculed the current Games in the style of Kremlin propaganda, emphasising "traditional values".

In an interview with Argumenty i Fakty, the Stanley Cup winner accused the IOC of politicising sport and mocking the Olympic movement. He also added that he did not care about the ban imposed by the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine on our athletes from participating in competitions where Russians are allowed.

"How can you comment on absurdity? Everything that is happening is a complete arbitrariness, a disregard for principles and rights, not only sporting but also human rights. If Ukrainians don't want to compete, let them not compete. The Olympic movement emerged hundreds of years ago and was created to unite people and stop any conflicts. No politics has ever interfered in sport. Billions of people around the world watch the Olympics because there were clear principles and rules. And now refugee teams and transgender athletes are allowed to participate in the Games, and soon robots and artificial intelligence will probably take part. This is no longer the Olympics, but the devil knows what," Fetisov said.

Recall that the IOC recommended that international federations suspend Russian athletes involved in the Russian army and law enforcement agencies, as well as team sports. Representatives of the aggressor country should also not support the war in Ukraine.

In response, the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) did not nominate Russia for the 2024 Olympics and also suspended the Russian national team from the 2025 European Championships.

As OBOZREVATEL previously reported, two-time world luge champion Semen Pavlichenko called Ukrainians sick and said that "there have been wars in the world all the time". And the winner of the Olympics, Yelena Välbe, complained about the difficulties with the capture of Ukraine and dreamed that the world would apologise to Russia.

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