Photo: Ansa/Epa/AndyRain
Sport bans Russia
Football, basketball and even Putin’s beloved judo. Sport chooses the hard line: no compromises on the downside
International sport waves the Ukrainian yellow and blue flags and chases Russia: out of everything, World Cups, European competitions. With public dishonor and reprimands. In Moscow they had breathed a sigh of relief the other night, when it seemed that the soft line prevailed in the meetings, no flag or anthem but participation in the playoffs towards Qatar confirmed. Instead, the categorical rejection of Poland, Sweden e Czech Republic taking the field in a few weeks against Russia has led FIFA to take the toughest and probably least desired decision. It was not taken for granted, because not only sport is involved but there are also economic reasons, with Gazprom elite sponsor of UEFA. Issue resolved: the contract with the energy giant is suspended with immediate effect. A loss, yes, but easily recoverable.
After all, UEFA had already removed the organization of the Champions League final scheduled for May in St. Petersburg. “These decisions were adopted today by the Bureau of the FIFA Council and the Executive Committee of Uefa, respectively the highest decision-making bodies of both institutions on such urgent issues. Football is united and in full solidarity with all those affected in Ukraine. Both presidents (Gianni Infantino and Aleksander Ceferin, ed) hope that the situation in Ukraine will improve significantly and quickly so that football can once again be a vector of unity and peace among peoples ”.
Basketball follows, with Euroleague who expelled Cska Moscow, Unics Kazan. Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar is outside the Eurocup. Even the usually pragmatic and very prudent is tough That is, already accustomed to punishing the Russians even if for doping reasons: this time it will not be enough to have the athletes parade under the insignia of the Moscow Olympic Committee, because the top world sporting body has invited Russian and Belarusian athletes to be excluded from any competition. The target? “To protect the integrity of global sporting competitions and the safety of all participants”.
Not quite the day he expected Daniil Medvedev, the new tennis number one after having ousted the Serbian Novak Djokovic from the throne, who however immediately took the side of those against the war: “I want to ask for peace in the world, for peace between countries”. Who knows what the Kremlin leader thinks, who in the meantime has been hit where he hurts the most: the International Federation of Judo, Vladimir Putin’s favorite sport, suspended him from the post of honorary president.
