"What does this have to do with anything?" Russian Olympic champion calls IOC's demands discrediting Russia

Legendary Olympic gymnastics champion Alexei Nemov has expressed dissatisfaction with the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) requirements for Russian athletes to compete. The member of the United Russia party added that he would not agree to compete in tournaments in a neutral status.

Nemov said this in an interview with the propaganda TV channel Match TV. The four-time Games winner called the IOC's recommendations "discrediting the country" and said he did not understand why, amid the war in Ukraine, sanctions were particularly targeted at athletes involved in the Russian security and military structures.

"I think the athletes will decide this individually. But given the criteria that exist, it is unlikely that anyone will agree to these conditions. Because this is a real discredit to our country and our sport. It means that we have to abandon our homeland. In different countries, many athletes also play for military clubs. So what? What does this have to do with anything? We all do the same hard work in the world - we want to glorify our country and our club in particular. For me, this is more of an ethical issue for every athlete. I probably wouldn't have been able to perform according to the criteria set by the IOC," Nemov said.

The day before, during a visit to Kyiv, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo spoke out against the admission of Russian athletes to the 2024 Olympics. As a reminder, the IOC recommended that international federations suspend athletes from the Russian Federation who are affiliated with the Russian army and security forces, as well as team sports. Representatives of the aggressor country should also not support the war in Ukraine.

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 Välbae, complained about the difficulties with the capture of Ukraine and dreamed that the world would apologise to Russia.

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