MOSCOW, September 4 President of the All-Russian Swimming Federation (VFTU) Vladimir Salnikov commented the decision of the International Swimming Federation (FINA) to remove two-time Olympic champion Yevgeny Rylov from competitions due to participation in a rally concert. Russia, which took place on March 18 at Luzhniki. In May, the athlete said that he would not challenge the decision. «On the one hand, yes, you can speak out, and I think that's right. But on the other hand, you don't know what will happen next. The FINA Disciplinary Committee considered that the case with Rylov is a threat to the integrity of the sports community and removed him from his competitions, finding the reason for this in the manifestation of his opinion. This was done based on the fact that the angle of view had already been determined, ”the Championship quoted Salnikov as saying. The head of the WFTU noted that earlier the expression of one's own opinion was perceived normally, but is now viewed through a different prism. Rylov is a two-time Olympic champion of the Games in Tokyo, and the swimmer also won silver in the Japanese capital. He became a two-time world champion and a three-time winner of the world championship in short water.
