Consequences for war supporters
“Shocking behavior” outraged world association
03/06/2022, 11:30 p.m
Ivan Kuliak wears the “Z” on his jersey. The letter is seen these days as a sign of support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The 20-year-old’s action caused massive outrage and is already having consequences for the athlete.
The Russian gymnast Ivan Kuliak caused a scandal at the World Cup in Doha and has to reckon with massive consequences. At the award ceremony for the decision on parallel bars, the 20-year-old wore a “Z” on his jersey instead of the coat of arms as a sign of support for Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine. The world gymnastics association FIG has initiated disciplinary measures. As the association announced, the ethics committee was asked to open disciplinary proceedings after the “shocking behavior”.
Kuliak was third on parallel bars with 14,533 points. The winner on this apparatus was the young Ukrainian Ilja Kovtun with 15.166 points. Both athletes shared the podium with second-placed Kazakh Milad Karimi (14.566). Kuliak had pasted the “Z” over the coat of arms on his jersey, which can be seen on Russian military vehicles in Ukraine, among other places.
On Friday, the World Gymnastics Federation tightened sanctions against Russia and Belarus because of the war in Ukraine. As of this Monday, according to a new decision by the Executive Committee, athletes from both nations may no longer take part in events under the sovereignty of the FIG until further notice. The same applies to officials and referees. This excludes Russians and Belarusians from the World Acrobatics Championships in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku from March 10-13, as well as from the upcoming Gymnastics World Cups in Cairo from March 13-20 and Baku from March 31-April 4.
For the World Cup in Doha, the FIG decision of February 26 still applied, according to which after the Belarus-supported invasion of Russia into Ukraine, only the flags of both countries may not be displayed and their anthems may not be played.