Against war: In the Czech Republic forbade Russians to participate in competitions in their territory

This decision of the Czech government is a response to the continuing invasion of Russia into Ukraine. The Cabinet of Ministers of the Czech Republic at a meeting on June 28, on the proposal of the Ministry of Education, decided to ban Russian athletes and teams to participate in competitions and matches in the Czech Republic, Novinky reports. The same ban will extend to the participation of athletes representing the Czech Republic in competitions in Russia.

Such a proposal was initiated by sports associations and supported by the management of the National Sports Agency. It is a response to a continuing invasion of Russia into Ukraine, through which Russian and Belarusian athletes from the spring of last year cannot participate in most international competitions.

The Czech Olympic Committee (čOV) opposes any form of participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the Olympic qualifying competitions and games in Paris next year, so the plenum voted in April. Then, two weeks later, the čov expert group suggested that Russian and Belarusian athletes sign a statement under the oath that condemns aggression against any UN member state by another country before they can participate in the Olympic Games in Paris solely under neutral flag.

In fact, they should condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine. On June 10, Focus wrote that Beleniuk explained what a meeting with Ukrainians at the Olympics would turn to the Russians. The famous fighter noted that Russian athletes were silently silent while their country brought a lot of grief to Ukraine. Recall that on April 5, fighters from Russia and Belarus were admitted to international tournaments for compliance with the recommendations of the International Olympic Committee.