The Ukraine war is also making its mark in the sports world. A Russian gymnast who publicly provoked with a war symbol is now facing severe consequences.
Russian gymnast Ivan Kuliak caused a scandal at the World Cup in Doha (Qatar) with his public support for the Ukraine war. At the award ceremony for the decision on parallel bars, the 20-year-old wore a “Z” on his jersey instead of the coat of arms as a sign of support for the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. The world gymnastics association FIG has now initiated disciplinary measures. As the association announced on Sunday evening, the ethics committee was asked to open disciplinary proceedings after the “shocking behavior”.
Kuliak was third on parallel bars with 14,533 points. Winner on this device was the Ukrainian Ilya Kovtun with 15.166 points. Both athletes shared the podium with second-placed Kazakh Milad Karimi (14.566). Kuliak had pasted the “Z” over the coat of arms on his jersey, which can be seen on Russian military vehicles in Ukraine, among other places.
Because of the Ukraine war: gymnasts from Russia and Belarus excluded from the World Cup
On Friday, the World Gymnastics Federation tightened sanctions against Russia and Belarus because of the war in Ukraine. From this Monday onwards, according to a new decision by the Executive Committee, athletes from both nations may no longer take part in events under the sovereignty of the FIG until further notice. The same applies to officials and referees.
This excludes Russians and Belarusians from the World Acrobatics Championships from March 10th to 13th in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku and from the upcoming Gymnastics World Cups in Cairo (March 13th to 20th) and Baku (March 31st to April 4th). .
For the World Cup in Doha, the FIG decision of February 26 still applied, according to which after the Belarus-supported invasion of Russia into Ukraine, only the flags of both countries may not be displayed and their anthems may not be played.
Source: Stern
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