German politicians have called for a boycott of the Winter Olympics over the Peng Shuai case. Now the WTA is also urging the case to be clarified. Tennis star Andrea Petkovic attacks IOC boss Bach.
The Athletes Germany Association has criticized the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in the case of tennis player Peng Shuai. With its behavior, the IOC “runs the risk of legitimizing the systematic reprisals against unwelcome people in China and thus becoming a collaborator with the Chinese government,” said Maximilian Klein, responsible for international sports policy for Athleten Germany, of the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung”.
Most recently, a video call between the player and IOC President Thomas Bach triggered further discussions and criticism (Read more about it here). The former federal chairman of the Greens, MEP Reinhard Bütikofer, told the newspaper that Bach had “made the IOC hostage to China” and “now got deeper and deeper into an unsavory complicity in pushing the human rights issue away”.
Petkovic hopes for justice
Without naming Bach, tennis player Andrea Petkovic said in an interview with the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung”: “What should I say about that? It seems so obvious. The Winter Games are taking place in China, he is the first to speak to Peng Shuai, I don’t think that needs comment. “
34-year-old Petkovic said that she would prefer “if someone from the WTA could speak to Peng Shuai. That would give me the most reassurance after all the videos, photos and interviews that have appeared. I wish you personally.” that she may experience justice. ” For her it is the top priority that she can “lead a safe life”. The West will “forget the case, it has always been like that. Then I hope that she and her family will be safe.”
Mahmut Özdemir, the SPD’s sports policy spokesman, said the IOC had sent a “fatal and alarming signal” to the world of sports. Several German politicians in the future government coalition are calling for a diplomatic boycott of the Olympic Winter Games to be held in Beijing in February.
WTA is also “still deeply concerned”
The criticism of China is also growing from other quarters. The WTA players’ organization continues to urge clarification. WTA boss Steve Simon was “still deeply concerned that Peng is not free from censorship or coercion,” said a spokeswoman for the AFP news agency.
Simon contacted the 35-year-old, who won two Grand Slam doubles titles, through various communication channels. He had sent her two emails, “her answers were clearly influenced by others,” it said. That’s why Simon “decided to only email her again when he is sure that the answers are her own and not those of her censors.”
WTA threatened a tournament withdrawal from China
Peng Shuai wrote on the Twitter-like media Weibo earlier this month that he had been sexually abused by former Chinese Deputy Prime Minister Zhang Gaoli. The entry was deleted as well as numerous Internet entries about Peng, of which there was no trace for more than two weeks.
The WTA players’ organization had therefore threatened to withdraw their tournaments from the Middle Kingdom, the case should not be clarified transparently and comprehensively. Several prominent athletes, the United Nations and the Washington White House intervened in the case and asked for clarification.
China with a rare official reaction
Peng reappeared in a Beijing restaurant and at a tennis tournament in the Chinese capital last weekend. State media published corresponding video clips.
On Tuesday, China called in a rare official response to the player’s allegations not to “politicize” or “play up” the Peng Shuai case.
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