Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Tuesday ordered Belarusian athletes participating in the Paris Olympics under neutral status to “smash the face” of their opponents. “If you have made your choice and you go there under neutral status, beat the shit out of them, show them that you are a real Belarusian,” declared Alexander Lukashenko, quoted in a press release from the presidency, while Belarus is excluded as a state from the Games because of its support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
At the end of March, the IOC announced that Russian and Belarusian athletes would not be able to parade during the opening ceremony in Paris. This ban is in addition to their obligation to participate under a neutral banner, provided they have not openly supported the attack against Ukraine. The Russian and Belarusian anthems will also not be able to play.
“State of mind and anger have no minor importance in sport,” says Lukashenko
During a visit to the Belarusian region of Mogilev, residents asked Alexander Lukashenko what he thought about this participation under neutral status, according to a report published on the website of the Belarusian presidency. “It’s up to the athlete to choose. If he decides to participate in the Olympics, he will be even more fierce. Because you understand that state of mind and anger are not of minor importance in sport”, reacted Alexander Lukashenko. “You are Belarusian and when you emerge victorious, it is a good way for us to hit them in the face politically,” he insisted.
Alexander Lukashenko, in power since 1994, has eradicated all forms of opposition in his country, repressing a peaceful mass movement in 2020. He is also used to making sweeping declarations and outbursts, like when he paraded in front of demonstrators opposed to his power, a Kalashnikov in his hand, calling them “rats”. In February 2022, he opened Belarus to the Russian army so that it could invade Ukraine from the north.