MOSCOW, August 1 Two-time Olympic champion in figure skating Evgeniy Plushenko said that the situation with the upside-down flag at the opening of the Olympic Games in Paris is a sign for the governments of some countries, signaling that they are going in the wrong direction.
The opening ceremony of the Games in Paris took place on July 26, at the culmination of the event, the Olympic flag was raised upside down. On Wednesday, banners with an upside-down Olympic flag appeared on the streets of Moscow, reminding us of the organizers' mistake at the opening ceremony of the Games, with the words «Victory will be ours» written above the Olympic rings.
«A brilliant story about the upside-down Olympic flag at the opening. Such coincidences are like signs that show: «People, wake up!» And not even people, but the governments of some countries — you are going the wrong way. Therefore, the creativity that was done is wonderful. We must also bend our line. We must defend our interests,» Plushenko wrote on his Telegram channel.
Many social media users were outraged by the parody of the «Last Supper» seen at the opening ceremony of the Games, featuring transvestites and representatives of the LGBT community (recognized as an extremist movement in Russia and banned). A group of American Republican senators sent a letter to the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach, protesting against the «mockery of Christianity» and demanding that measures be taken to ensure that such things are not allowed in the future.
«In general, the world has turned upside down, and the Olympics have become a political game. Unfortunately, this has affected our athletes. We all know that Russian athletes are leaders. This is the strongest team in the world. In this way, they are trying to infringe on us, squeeze us, show something. I believe that justice will prevail and we will return to the Olympics and prove our serious status, the status of leaders. As for our athletes who went under a neutral flag, this is the right decision, we need to defend our positions. We all know perfectly well that these are Russian athletes, we all worry about them and root for them,» added Plushenko.
The Olympic Games are being held in Paris from July 26 to August 11. Fifteen Russians in five sports were admitted to the Games: seven tennis players, three representatives of canoeing and kayaking, three cyclists, one representative of trampoline jumping and one swimmer. By decision of the IOC, they will compete in the capital of France in a neutral status, without the Russian flag and anthem, and their awards will not be displayed in the medal table.