MOSCOW, July 11, Oleg Bogatov. Ivan Kulyak's performance in the Russian Cup could lead to the fact that the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) would have the right to disqualify the athlete for life, so it was decided that he would miss the competition in Kaluga, said the head coach of the Russian gymnastics team Valentina Rodionenko. Earlier on the website of the Russian Artistic Gymnastics Federation (FSGR ) a statement was released stating that Kulyak would not take part in international and domestic competitions at least until the decision of the appeal committee of the independent Gymnastics Ethics Foundation (GEF). Initially, the gymnast was supposed to take part in the Russian Cup, which was held in Kaluga on July 4-10. The absence of an athlete in the competition caused a wide negative response. At the beginning of March, at the World Cup stage in Doha, Kulyak entered the award ceremony with the letter Z printed on his uniform, which became 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. GEF opened a disciplinary case against Kulyak. In May, the FIG disciplinary committee disqualified the athlete for one year. «On August 15, the GEF disciplinary tribunal will be held, at which the issue of Ivan Kulyak will be considered,» Rodionenko said. «We hope that the disqualification will be lifted from him. The thing is that if we now allowed an athlete to participate in the Russian Cup, then later he could be disqualified for life. Therefore, we simply could not go for it. And now we are waiting for the results of the hearings, which will be held on August 15. «Our lawyers say that everything should work out, — added the interlocutor of the agency. — Let's hope for the best».
