MOSCOW, 22 Apr. President of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) Stanislav Pozdnyakov called the suspension of Russian swimmer Yevgeny Rylov for nine months for participating in a concert rally a laughingstock. The International Swimming Federation (FINA) on Friday announced the suspension of two-time Olympic champion Rylov from competitions under the auspices of the organization for 9 months for participation in a festive concert in honor of the Day of the reunification of Crimea with Russia, which took place on March 18 at Luzhniki. Earlier, the FINA disciplinary commission opened a case against Rylov. «Commenting on the latest FINA sanctions against Zhenya Rylov, as well as Russian and Belarusian swimmers, can be quite succinct: international sport has not only ceased to be outside of politics, it has now become politics. And the further this painful the process develops, the more it influences the decisions and actions of individual colleagues in international federations. Suspending an athlete for 9 months for participating in a concert is not even a shame, but a laughing stock,» Pozdnyakov wrote in his Telegram channel. «We are waiting for consistency from international sports federations in the form of similar measures in relation to all other athletes from different countries, one way or another, they have indicated their position on current events. In the meantime, there is open discrimination on a national basis, a violation of the basic rights of an athlete and a person, «he added.
