Gazprom calls international ban of Russian athletes "interference in internal affairs" of the Russian Federation

Alexandr Zharov, CEO of Gazprom-Media Holding, criticized the allegedly unfair suspension of Russian athletes from international tournaments. The Vladimir Putin regime's henchman called it "interference in our internal affairs."

Zharov said this in a commentary to the propaganda TV channel Match TV. The former head of Roskomnadzor repeated traditional Kremlin narratives about the "abolition of Russia" in world sports and complained that athletes from the aggressor country are banned from competing under the national flag.

"The notion of sovereignty in sports is the most acute. Since this is a competitive field of human activity, even every player in sports is branded: who won, who achieved the result! Unfortunately, in recent years, we have been in a situation where the Russian Federation is trying to abolish the country, and this is very much affecting our athletes, when they are even offered to perform at international venues without indicating the country to which they belong. This is an outrage! This is interference in our internal affairs, in fact!" Zharov said.

Earlier, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced the admission of Russian athletes to the 2024 Games in Paris under a neutral flag in individual events. The Russian Federation reacted angrily to this decision, and the International Federation of Athletics announced the suspension of representatives of the aggressor country from the Olympics.

As OBOZ.UA previously reported, former speed skater and State Duma deputy Svetlana Zhurova complained about Ukrainians, whom everyone is allegedly tired of because of our country's possible boycott of the 2024 Olympics. And Veronika Stepanova, an Olympic champion with the "intelligence  of a washing machine," called on Russians to organize provocations at the Games.

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