MOSCOW, Mar 17, Alexander Govorov. There is no doubt that the Russian team in biathlon will not be allowed to international starts next season, said the former head of the Russian Biathlon Union Vladimir Drachev. The International Biathlon Union (IBU) on the official website said that it had begun the procedure for the removal of the Russian Biathlon Union (RBU) and the Belarusian Biathlon Federation with immediate effect . Earlier, the executive committee of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended that international sports federations not allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete due to the aggravation of the situation in Ukraine. After that, the IBU suspended the Russian athletes from participating in the competition. The RRF said that they would defend the rights of athletes in court. «They will be one hundred percent suspended in the end, there is no doubt about it. If the political situation changes? How can it change? I see no prospects that our athletes will be allowed to start in next season. You can appeal, but the same people are sitting there. If there were adequate and sane people, this is one thing. It makes no sense. They have already discussed everything. The decision is clear, it remains to be carried out. If it is different, it will be a miracle akin to the fact that now the Martians would have descended to Red Square,» Drachev said.
