PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Russian skaters are stopped from competing in the World Cup next season.
That was the message that the Swedish Fis director Johan Eliasch announced this weekend.
Words that make Olympic gold hero Veronika Stepanova boil and counterattack.
It was last Saturday that the International Skiing Federation, Fis, gave its final verdict on Russian and Belarusian skiers for the coming season. The decision stands to continue excluding the riders in the World Cup because of the President Vladimir Putin’s waging war against Ukraine.
Russian anger
The Swedish Fis manager Johan Eliasch was the one who had to deliver the decisive words.
– We have decided to follow the IOC and their recommendations. The IOC and their charter say that we as Olympic sports must “promote” peace through sport and that is very important, Eliasch said at a press conference.
The article continues after the picture.
The words from the Swede cause Russian superstar Veronika Stepanova to completely rage against the continued boycott. The 21-year-old broke through last season and helped Russia to Olympic gold in the relay in Beijing earlier this year.
READ MORE: The fine words about Frida Karlsson in Norway – now celebrated after the courageous stance: “She doesn’t hide”
Tried Putin
The ski star recently received a lot of criticism from the outside world after she paid tribute to the strongly contested Putin. Now she rages over how Russian skaters are treated by the sports world.
– What motivates me to continue to argue against the suspension of Russian athletes is a feeling of unfair treatment by the managers in international sports. It is nothing but hypocrisy, remind me when athletes from Israel or the USA were suspended, and for what, says the Russian to SVT Sport.
– Not because they should have been banned, sports should build bridges between people, not divide them. The planet is too small to build walls, Russia will not stop being one of Sweden’s closest neighbors, you have to start accepting us just as we accept you.
The article continues after the picture.
Stepanova is then counter-questioned if she has any understanding of Russian skiers being banned because of the war against Ukraine. But she doesn’t seem too interested in answering that.
– That didn’t sound like a question, more like a stance. I have read what Fis wrote in their statement regarding the extension of the suspension, that is their position and that is what I have to deal with, she says in conclusion.
Is it right to ban Russian skiers? Share the article and tell us what you think!
READ MORE: The new pictures of the Olympic gold hero Jonna Sundling, who is spreading fear throughout Norway: “She scares me…”