MOSCOW, Mar 19 Secretary General of the International Biathlon Union (IBU) Niklas Karlsson did not rule out that the Russian Biathlon Union (RBU) lost its membership for several years. On Thursday, the IBU announced the start of the procedure for the removal of the RBU and the Belarusian Biathlon Federation with immediate effect. The suspension will be regularly reviewed by the executive committee and will last until the next IBU congress in September 2022. «While this is going on in Ukraine, it is strange to invite them back. Something different from what we are seeing now should happen. Will the suspension last a few years? It is possible. It is important that we acted in this way. There are different levels of sanctions, this time we decided to apply the toughest ones, «NRK quotes Karlsson. Previously, the Executive Committee of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended that international sports federations not allow Russian and Belarusian athletes due to the aggravation of the situation in Ukraine. After that, the IBU suspended the Russian athletes from participating in the competition. The RBU said they would defend the rights of athletes in court.
