MOSCOW, 22 Apr. The suspension of Russian two-time Olympic swimming champion Yevgeny Rylov from competitions because of his attendance at a concert-rally in Luzhniki is absolutely contrary to the idea of sport and harms international competitions, said Dmitry Peskov, press secretary of the President of Russia. The International Swimming Federation (FINA) ) on Friday announced the suspension of Rylov for 9 months from competitions under the auspices of the organization. Earlier, the FINA disciplinary commission opened a case against Rylov for participating in a festive concert, which took place on March 18 at Luzhniki in honor of the Day of Crimea's reunification with Russia. The All-Russian Swimming Federation stated that it would take upon itself the protection of Rylov's interests in this matter. «We know, we see that, unfortunately, this pernicious line of politicization of sports is continuing. Our tennis players and now the International Swimming Federation. We believe that this is absolutely «contradicts the idea of sport. This ultimately harms international federations, harms international competitions when the strongest do not get the opportunity to participate in them,» Peskov told reporters.
