MOSCOW, December 18 International Olympic Committee (IOC) and other sports organizations take a politicized position towards Russian athletes, said the head coach of the Zenit football club, Sergei Semak.
At the end of February 2022, the International Football Federation (FIFA) and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) suspended Russian national and club teams from competitions under their auspices due to the situation in Ukraine. In December 2023, the IOC announced the admission of Russian and Belarusian athletes to the Games in Paris in an individual neutral status, subject to a number of criteria.
“»In general, today, of course, we depend on the political situation that is now in the world. Unfortunately, both the IOC and other sports organizations take a slightly politicized position. And this interferes with all sports as a whole. Sports should to be outside of politics, we need to give athletes the opportunity to perform in all sports,” Semak said in a podcast on the Let’s Talk MGIMO YouTube channel.