MOSCOW, April 9, Sergey Pogrebnyak. President of the Artistic Gymnastics Federation of Russia (FSGR) ) Vasily Titov said that the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) is asking the disciplinary commission of the Independent Gymnastic Ethics Foundation (GEF) to suspend Russian Ivan Kulyak for at least one year. In early March, Kulyak took third place in exercises on parallel bars at the World Cup in Doha. The Russian came to the award ceremony with the letter Z applied to the uniform, which has become an unofficial symbol of support for the special operation in Ukraine. The athlete himself later explained that this was a response to provocations by Ukrainian gymnasts. After that, the GEF opened a disciplinary case against Kulyak. “When the decision is made, then we will discuss it. and then we will discuss it. Why gasp and groan now?» Titov said. «Until all the meetings on Ivan's case have taken place, there will be one more. Therefore, we are in a state of expectation,» added Titov. Previously, the coach of the Russian national team, Valentina Rodionenko said that the hope for a positive outcome in the Kulyak case is «very weak.»
