President Thomas Bach is trumping the charter with Russian flag restrictions, hockey player Vyacheslav Fetisov has charged
Vyacheslav Fetisov © Sputnik / Kirill Shipitsin
Legendary Russian hockey player Vyacheslav Fetisov has lashed out at the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, over the organization’s treatment of Russian and Belarusian athletes. Fetisov believes they should be allowed to compete under their national flags.
“Since the Cold War there have not been such decisions by the IOC,” Fetisov said of the latest recommendation to international federations on how to treat Russian and Belarusian athletes. “There were boycotts, there were protests, but I cannot recall anything like that.”
He described the current situation as “lawless and unprecedented” and said nothing good would come out of it.
“How will the decisions be taken in the next conflict?” he wondered in an interview with Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper, the extract of which was published on Monday. “Thomas Bach is no longer an IOC president in my eyes. If you can’t uphold Olympic rules – resign.”
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In late March, the IOC issued its recommendation to international federations on how to allow holders of Russian and Belarusian passports to compete. It advised to let them do so only as individual athletes – ruling out team sports – and only if they do not support Russia in the Ukraine conflict. The committee also urged mandatory doping tests, as opposed to random checks.
The new rules are less restrictive than the previous blanket ban on Russians and Belarusians, which was how the body responded at the start of the operation in Ukraine in late February 2022. In its new recommendations, the IOC explained that a total prohibition was discriminatory in nature.
Fetisov, one of the most prominent ice hockey players from the Soviet era, won two gold medals and one silver medal in the Olympic games. He is among a number of Russian public figures to strongly criticize the IOC’s latest decision. The champion partially blamed Russia for the situation, saying Moscow “constantly walked back on our position,” and stressed the need to send a clear and uncompromising message to the committee.
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Russian Olympic champion hits back at IOC
“We’ll be back only if our flag and anthem are back. Otherwise amend the Olympic Charter to legalize your decisions. Or kiss us goodbye,” he insisted, describing the proposed ultimatum. Taking such a stance would stop the “horseplay” surrounding admission to the games, Fetisov said.
