General
Rodnina said that only the federations, not the IOC, can remove sanctions from the Russians, but is pessimistic
Irina Rodnina / Photo: © RIA Novosti / Ilya Pitalev
Three-time Olympic champion in pair skating Irina Rodnina said that the last word in the issue of lifting sanctions on Russian sports belongs to the federations, while she is pessimistic.
In February, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended that international sports federations not allow athletes from Russia and Belarus to participate in tournaments due to the situation in Ukraine.
– Any federation and specialist in sports will say that they want to watch the strongest. It’s always competition. Without Russia, this is an incomplete composition. It’s one thing when there are mistakes, doping, violations of the rules. And here everyone was punished en masse.
The IOC can only advise, recommend, allow. The federations have the last word. Therefore, warming should not be expected in the near future, ”Rodnina told Sport24.
On Friday, IOC President Thomas Bach said that the time had not yet come to lift sanctions against Russians and Belarusians.
Source: Sportbox
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