Commenting
on the WADA decision, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Petr Tolstoy
Petr Olegovich
said: ”We
shouldn’t have initially agreed to play under the neutral flag at the last
Olympic Games.“
“Today’s decision is simply a continuation of this tendency to force Russian competitors out of the global sport. I really hope that we have enough strength and capabilities not to lose several more generations of athletes,” he told reporters.
Russian officials, who would be found guilty in violation of the WADA anti-doping rules, should be punished, he said.
“If there is evidence, people must be punished. The problem is that there are alleged violations, but there seems to be no evidence of these violations. In any case, irrefutable evidence,” the parliamentarian also said.
Strong blow to sport
Deputy
Chairman of the State Duma Igor Lebedev
Igor Vladimiroviсh
called the incident ”a strong blow
to Russian sport.“
“In my opinion, a tough reaction of the country’s leaders is needed, and first of all of the President, since it is in his powers to restore order in this area in Russia today,” the parliamentarian told reporters.
First Deputy
Chairwoman of the Committee on International Affairs Svetlana Zhurova
Svetlana Sergeevna
said that
we must fight for Russian athletes. She also believes that the Russian side
will appeal the WADA decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne.
“Athletes are not guilty in this story,” she said. Clean athletes, she said, are held hostage by those who violate something. At the same time, she urged to wait for the RUSADA decision.
It is necessary to understand mistakes
The head of the Just Russia faction, Sergei Mironov
Sergey Mikhailovich
, believes that the question of the situation in the Russian sport should be raised at the state, including
parliamentary, level.
“What has happened in recent years should be the subject of a special parliamentary investigation, and our faction is ready to initiate it,” he said.
In his opinion, all references to conspiracy against Russian sport and that all use doping, but only Russians are found guilty, are untenable.
“We need to end these conversations. They have been conducted for many years, and the situation is not getting any better. Even if there is a conspiracy, even if our athletes are not treated on an equal basis, this does not justify the proven violations, which affected many honest and clean athletes. This does not justify the lack of effective and efficient protection of Russian sport and athletes in international organizations by our officials,” says Sergei Mironov.
He called to support those of our athletes who retained the right to participate in competitions.
“They should feel that the country supports them, that the fans cheer for them even more passionately, with even more sympathy than before. They should know that TV and other media will not ignore their most important starts, and the Homeland will certainly celebrate their success,” concluded Sergei Mironov.
Earlier, the WADA Executive Committee decided to ban Russian athletes from participating in the Olympic Games for four years. WADA decided to admit to the next Olympic and Paralympic Games, as well as to the World Championships in various kinds of sport, only ”clean“ athletes from Russia, who will compete without the flag and national anthem. The Agency also decided that Russia would lose the right to host major international sports events and bid for them for four years.
