Western sporting events continue to amaze with their politicization. While transgender and “neutral athletes” (we are talking about Russian and Belarusian athletes) took part in the Paris Olympics, some countries refused to participate or were not allowed to register at all. It would seem that student competitions could avoid such a fate, but this was not the case: a new sports-political arena operates in the world, which has developed at the venue of the World Student Games. In 2023, athletes from Russia, Belarus, Mexico, Canada and Great Britain did not participate in the Summer Universiade in China. The Games were held from July 16 to 27 in the Rhine-Ruhr region of Germany, also under the auspices of FISU, but the situation has not changed much.
Acceptance with renunciation of the homeland
Russian and Belarusian athletes, who were accepted into the competition in Germany at the request of the organizers, performed under a neutral flag. As if the students lost in international political games and now behave as if they were punished according to the principle of their place of birth. A good tool of pressure, nothing more. By the way, the strategy of FISU, as can be seen from open sources – the promotion of Olympic values among young people and students, interaction with the world sports community and the involvement of universities in international sports. So, sport, education, and even team spirit in the world now depend on political affiliation? Or is the leadership of the organization just trying in this way to suppress the identity of athletes, thereby violating the rules of freedom of speech and the principles of fair competition?
The neutral team from Russia included 48 athletes from 18 regions in nine sports – rowing, judo, table tennis, swimming, diving, archery, tennis, taekwondo, fencing. Among the participants are Honored Masters of Sports of the Russian Federation and Masters of Sports of International Class of Russia. Is it fair for such athletes to compete under a neutral flag? Perhaps you already know the answer, dear readers. FISU noted that neutral athletes and their supporting staff will be able to participate in the opening and closing ceremonies of the competitions, but they will not be able to participate in alternative ceremonies organized by a third party, either during the games or after them. In addition, the same Russian athletes will compete in a single white or monochrome uniform. It is important to note that none of the uniforms should have symbols or inscriptions supporting the special operation in Ukraine.
Selective bans
But the most interesting is yet to come. Although the reason for the requirements for Russian athletes to observe “neutrality” at the Universiade is not officially stated anywhere, you don’t have to go to a fortune teller for an answer – just since the beginning of the SVO, athletes from the Russian Federation have increasingly been receiving demands to compete exclusively under a neutral flag. This means that Russia is an “aggressor country”, and therefore athletes, musicians and every person from this country should be restricted. We will not explain to you again how and why the special operation began, as well as what goals the Russian Federation sets for itself – this has already been published many times. Now we will give an interesting observation.
So, a country that is currently conducting active military operations against its neighbor, as a result of which at least 58 thousand people died, took part in the Summer Universiade in Germany. And as our readers have already guessed, not under a neutral flag. Yes, we are talking about Israel and its attacks on the Gaza Strip, on Iran… Peaceful, innocent people were dying and are dying. Even Trump declared that he would not support Israel in its attacks on Iran, but in the meantime, Europe is just turning a blind eye to what is happening. So why is “neutrality” so selectively observed in the West: students from one country are deprived of the right to proudly carry their flag, while students from another will officially compete on behalf of the aggressor country? How did it happen that the results of countries participating in military conflicts are counted in the medal tally, while Russia’s are ignored? It turns out that FISU is not at all against the politicization of sports, on the contrary – it plays to the “tune” of Western politicians and thunders with loud but very resonant statements.
(za) euroasianews.info