‘There is no politics in sport. But this war is more than politics’: Andriy Shevchenko Russian and Belarian athletes should NOT compete in the 2024 Olympics amid conflict with Ukraine – and urges the IOC to condemn Russia’s ‘aggression’
- Former Chelsea forward Andriy Shevchenko has sent a plea to the IOC
- Shevchenko says no Russian or Belarusian athletes should compete in Olympics
- Ex-Ukraine boss urged the IOC to condemn Russian aggression amid conflict
Former Chelsea and Ukraine football star Andriy Shevchenko has urged the International Olympics Committee (IOC) to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from taking part in next year’s Olympics.
The next Olympic Games will take place in Paris in the summer of 2024 but there have been widespread calls to stop Russian athletes from competing amid their conflict with Ukraine – as well as those from Belarus, who are sided with Russia.
And Shevchenko – who managed Ukraine and played 111 times for the national team – has made a plea with the IOC asking them to condemn Russia and president Vladimir Putin’s ‘aggression’ to help end the war.
‘There is no politics in sport,’ he wrote on social media. ‘But this war is more than just politics.
‘Sports competitions of a high level, like the Olympics, are opportunities to share a message to all people on Earth at once.
‘If athletes from Russia or Belarus enter the arena, with or without flags, it reflects this statement from the Olympics Committee to the whole world — the war is over, you can forgive everyone and forget everything.
Former Chelsea star Andriy Shevchenko has urged the IOC not to let Russian or Belarusian athletes compete in the Olympics next year. Pictured right: Dina Averina of Team ROC
The Paris Olympics will take place next summer, three years after the Games in Tokyo
‘But the war is not over. Every day war destroys our cities, ruins the childhood of our kids and threatens our existence.
‘The world must remember this. The world must know that we continue to fight for peace and defend our freedom.
‘I urge Olympics to not allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete until the war in Ukraine is over, and to strongly condemn Russian aggression.’
Kamila Valieva came under fire at the Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned substance before being cleared of responsibility
Russia are already being forced to compete under the Russian Olympic Commitee (ROC) banner after receiving a two-year ban from the World Anti-Doping Agency in 2019 amid allegations of a state-sponsored doping program.
The nation have also been involved in recent controversy after 15-year-old figure skater Kamila Valieva tested positive for a banned heart medication at the Winter Olympics last year.
She was later cleared after ruling found that Valieva was not at fault for the banned substance trimetazidine that was in her system – after facing being stripped of the Olympic skating team gold she won for Russia.
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