Non-aggression and punishment: Russian Sports Minister wants sanctions for Romanian mayor

The Russian rhythmic gymnastics team refused to participate in the Challenge Cup on June 26-28 in Romania due to violations of the tournament regulations. By order of the Mayor of Cluj-Napoca, Emil Bock, the Russian flag and anthem are prohibited at competitions, despite the fact that since May 17 these symbols have been officially allowed by the International Gymnastics Federation World Gymnastics. Attempts to reason with the pro-European mayor were unsuccessful, although the Romanian National Federation also insisted on compliance with international regulations. As a result, our girls decided to cancel their performances in protest.

Boycott as a response

"The organizers verbally informed us that the national flag of the Russian Federation will not be displayed at the sports arena and the national anthem will not be performed in the event of a victory for Russian gymnasts," the Russian Gymnastics Federation said in a statement. — This is a direct violation of the May decision of the executive committee of World Gymnastics, according to which Russian gymnasts were fully reinstated in their rights. It also violates the charter of World Gymnastics and the updated provisions of the Olympic Charter aimed at protecting sports and athletes from any external political, state, social and economic pressure. Our national team is always ready to compete in tournaments where the requirements of World Gymnastics are met."

The release notes that the decision of the organizers is a "gross violation of the competition rules," and the Russian Gymnastics Federation "will seek the unconditional execution of World Gymnastics decisions by all international legal mechanisms." If the ban on Russian symbols is not lifted, then our entire team, which planned to perform from June 26 to 28 in Cluj-Napoca, will boycott the start.

It should be recalled that Arina Kovshova and Maria Borisova, as well as the "groupies" Arina Lysenko, Alina Proschalykina, Alyona Seliverstova, Nelly Reutskaya and Nicole Andronchik were announced for this tournament from Russia. All of them are pupils of Alina Kabayeva's Heavenly Grace Rhythmic Gymnastics Academy.

The mayor of Cluj-Napoca explained his illegal decision by saying that he agreed to hold the rhythmic gymnastics tournament at a time when World Gymnastics allowed our athletes only in a neutral status. The lifting of sanctions took Emil Bock by surprise — for ideological reasons, he categorically objects to the appearance of the Russian flag at official events on the territory under his jurisdiction. After the mayor's statement about the inadmissibility of the state symbols of Russia and Belarus at the Challenge Cup, the flags of our countries in the BT Arena hall, where the competition will be held, were replaced with light blue neutral canvases. On Thursday, the Russians trained in tricolor uniforms, but it was not possible to agree on the return of the flag.

A blatant violation of the Olympic Charter

The wall could not be breached despite the fact that the head of the Romanian Gymnastics Federation, Irina Deleanu, warned the authorities of Cluj-Napoca about the serious consequences of political arbitrariness.

"We're caught between a rock and a hard place. After all, we are too small to fight the giants," the official said in an interview with the Romanian newspaper ProSport. — We must remember that we are talking about young athletes, and sports should have nothing to do with politics. By banning the Russian flag and anthem, we risk being sanctioned by the international federation and losing the right to host the World Junior Championships in 2027.

Mikhail Degtyarev, Minister of Sports of the Russian Federation and head of the ROC, expressed his indignation at the arbitrariness of Emil Bock.:

— The incident in Romania at the Gymnastics Challenge Cup shows that European states are trying to treacherously violate the Olympic Charter, the charter of World Gymnastics, and the rules of competition. I must say that the Europeans have come to believe that sport can be used as an element of pressure and discrimination against Russia and Belarus, which shocks them when international organizations restore justice and legality," he said.

Degtyarev stressed that the Russian side will seek to review Romania's right to host international gymnastics tournaments.

"This should be a lesson for this country and the local princes," the Russian Sports minister added.

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In May, representatives of the Russian paratriathlon compromised in Japan and, as an exception, performed in a neutral status, although they had the right to start at the World Series in Yokohama under their own flag. The Japanese have found a loophole in the regulations allowing them not to comply with the World Triathlon's decision to return the flag to athletes with disabilities from Russia and Belarus. Then it was considered appropriate not to go into conflict. But now it is obvious that discrimination by tournament organizers is becoming a system.

— On the one hand, do you wonder how long this lawlessness can be tolerated? They let us in with a flag and an anthem, and then they start dictating conditions. It's worth understanding the right impulse of our federation," said Svetlana Zhurova, a deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, in an interview with Izvestia.

But on the other hand, the deputy believes, many countries may now come to the conclusion that Russian athletes should not be allowed to use national symbols, with the expectation of refusing to participate in competitions. In this regard, in her opinion, an immediate reaction of the international federation is necessary.

The mayor's personal political decision

Since World Gymnastics lifted restrictions on the Russian flag, our athletes have managed to perform with their national symbols in Bulgaria (the European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships and the Acrobatics World Cup), in Azerbaijan (the Acrobatics and Aerobics World Cup stages) and in China (the Rhythmic Gymnastics Challenge Cup stage). On June 26-27, our trampolinists are preparing to start with their symbols in Arosa (Switzerland), and from June 27 to June 29, the Russian flag will be raised at the World Cup of Aerobics in Nanchang (China).

There are no problems with our tricolor in any of these countries. Legally, they do not exist in Romania either, and the ban in Cluj-Napoca is a personal political decision of the mayor of the city, for which he must be punished.

"All responsibility for the non—participation of the Russian team in this tournament lies with the organizers," multiple world champion in rhythmic gymnastics Olga Kapranova told TASS. — The Romanian side has committed a blatant violation of the principles of the Olympic Charter and political neutrality. The Russian Olympic Committee and our federation have already sent relevant appeals to the International Olympic Committee and World Gymnastics, which decided more than a month ago to lift all restrictions on Russian and Belarusian gymnasts.

What sanctions for such an outburst might look like was shown by the men's and women's tennis associations in 2022. The Wimbledon tournament, which banned the performance of Russians, contrary to the decision of international structures, was deprived of the right to award rating points and fined a large sum. After that, the following year, the British abandoned their discriminatory decision. True, when issuing visas, our athletes are still required to fill out a declaration of neutrality, but Wimbledon adheres to international rules regarding Russians in one way or another, despite the anti-Russian position of its government.

This winter, the Italian sports authorities also objected to the presence of our flag at the Paralympics, but they obeyed the decision of the International Committee to lift sanctions. However, a number of unfriendly states boycotted the opening ceremony of the Games because of the symbols of Russia and Belarus. But in this case, the politicized delegations punished themselves.

As for World Gymnastics, the federation recently banned any political displays at its official events. In a situation where the city that has taken over hosting a major tournament cynically ignores the established rules, the organization's response must be swift and harsh.