MOSCOW, April 4 Olympic speed skating champion Svetlana Zhurova said that in the State Duma are ready to help Simon Fourcade obtain Russian citizenship. The French ex-biathlete was criticized on social networks after he supported Russian athletes at the Junior World Championships due to their suspension by the International Biathlon Union (IBU).
" to be in the country he wants to be in. Fourcade simply behaved as an athlete very correctly. However, if he is very much persecuted in France, then we will always extend a helping hand to him if something is deplorable and his words are unacceptable to the state and citizens of France. If Fourcade expresses a desire to obtain citizenship, then, of course, we will support him and try to implement it", — quotes the words of Zhurova"RBC-Sport".
Earlier, the IBU suspended Russian and Belarusian athletes from international competitions athletes against the backdrop of the situation in Ukraine. The IBU also suspended the membership of the Russian Biathlon Union and the Belarusian Biathlon Federation.