Boycott is a delicate matter – Newspaper Kommersant No. 66 (7511) dated 04/15/2023

The sports authorities of Ukraine have banned the country’s athletes from participating in competitions if Russian and Belarusian athletes are present. In fact, we are talking about a possible boycott by the country of major international tournaments. Some of them will suffer due to the absence of Ukrainian celebrities, but practice shows that the side that announced the boycott can suffer just as much.

The Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine has published an official order banning the country’s national teams from participating in competitions where athletes from Russia or Belarus are present. Restrictions apply to all representatives of teams in Olympic, non-Olympic, and Paralympic sports. Ukrainian sports federations will be required to monitor the participation of Russians and Belarusians in international competitions and inform the ministries about this. In case of revealing the participation of athletes from Russia and Belarus in the competitions, the Ukrainian delegations must be withdrawn.

A few months ago, this idea had, in fact, no relevance. Russia was already in almost complete sports isolation. Intersections of its athletes with Ukrainians were possible only in a small group of sports that refused to apply sanctions – tennis, professional boxing, chess. At the same time, there were no significant incidents related to such rivalry.

The urgency appeared after the International Olympic Committee softened its position on Russia and Belarus in March, recommending that their athletes be admitted to international competitions under a number of conditions. Several sports structures have already followed the new course. The decision to lift the ban on the participation of Russians and Belarusians in their tournaments was taken by the International Fencing Federation (FIE), the International Boxing Association (IBA), the United World Wrestling (UWW), the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), the International Triathlon Federation (World Triathlon). There is practically no doubt that many other federations will do the same, judging by the recent statements of functionaries.

Thus, in fact, we can talk about an almost full-fledged boycott of international sports by Ukraine. Because of him, he will undoubtedly suffer certain losses. Apparently, the main Ukrainian sports superstar, world heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk, is apparently not affected by the provisions of the order, but they affect many other genres. At the Summer Olympics in Tokyo in the summer of 2021, Ukrainians won a total of 19 medals in 12 sports. Among them are many strong wrestlers, judokas, athletes, swimmers, rowers, gymnasts. Their absence, of course, will reduce the level of competition in the top competitions.

True, history shows that boycotts of the kind that the Ukrainian authorities are going to implement cause serious harm to the side that declared them. There is an example of Iran, which obliges its athletes to refuse to meet with Israelis, even if the refusal means the award of defeat. For this reason, many well-known athletes have already left the country, including one of the leaders in the chess rating, Alireza Firouzja, and the International Judo Federation (IJF) disqualified the local federation in this type of martial arts.

The main intrigue related to the order of the Ministry of Sports of Ukraine, it seems, is still connected with football. The fact is that the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), having removed the Russian national team from its tournaments, did not apply any sanctions to the Belarusian team. She has already started in the qualifying tournament for the European Championship in 2024, along with the Ukrainian. True, they play in different groups. Deputy Minister of Sports of the country Matvey Bedny, according to RBC-Ukraine with reference to the Rada TV channel, said that the decision to remove the Ukrainian national team from the Euro 2024 qualifying tournament would have to be taken by the Ukrainian Football Association.

The Ukrainian national team plays in the qualifying tournament of the European Championship in group C, the team of Belarus plays in group I. The Ukrainian and Belarusian teams have no chance to meet each other in the qualification for the European Championship, including in the play-offs.

The IOC reacted very sharply to the order of the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine. “This raises serious questions about the autonomy of Ukrainian sports. If implemented, such a decision will only harm the Ukrainian community of athletes and national federations and will in no way affect the special military operation, ”Match TV quotes a statement from the press service of the parent sports organization.

Alexey Dospekhov