St. Petersburg, Sep 14, Dmitry Edigarev. Russian driver Sergey Karyakin said that he was not allowed to participate in the Dakar rally-raid without a written statement condemning the Russian special operation in Ukraine. The Dakar rally-raid will be held from December 31 to January 15 in Saudi Arabia. Karyakin is the winner of Dakar-2017 in the ATV standings. «They ask not only me to sign (a statement condemning the special operation), but also all Russian athletes. Everyone who participates (in competitions) within the framework of the FIA (International Motorsport Federation). This is a requirement The FIA, which shouted the loudest about the lack of politics in sports, but in fact there is a policy of double standards. This piece of paper says that we should not support the president, a special operation, that we consider the actions of our country to be destructive. That is, in this format, » Karjakin said. competition. We are trying to cancel this paper so that it is not necessary to sign it. Lawyers and other teams are helping. There is a personal communication with the organizers, so the Ministry of Sports and The Russian Motorsport Federation did not resort,» the athlete added.
