IBU suspends membership of the Russian Biathlon Union

MOSCOW, Mar 29 The International Biathlon Union (IBU) has suspended the membership of the Biathlon Union Russia (RBU) and the Belarusian Biathlon Federation with immediate effect, according to the IBU website. 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 biathletes from participating in the competition. The RBU said they would defend the rights of athletes in court. «The IBU Executive Board unanimously decided to suspend the activities of the RBU and the Belarusian Biathlon Federation with immediate effect,» the statement reads. «Both federations violated the humanitarian obligations of member federations in accordance with the constitution IBU These violations by the organizations damage the reputation of the IBU and biathlon, and their active membership will undermine the efforts of the IBU and its members to advance constitutional principles and goals,» the statement said.