The absence of Russian judokas from Paris, as a result of the boycott of the Olympic Games by their national federation, is a „loss” for the sporting event in the French capital, the Austrian of Romanian origin, Marius Vizer, said on Tuesday.
The president of the International Judo Federation (IJF), Vizer is considered close to Vladimir Putin.
„As the president of the IJF, I regret that we do not have full participation. When a qualified nation is missing, it is always a loss for the Olympics. But we can only respect or in any case accept the decision of the IOC”, said Vizer.
„Russia is a great judo country. We are a sport that has not sanctioned Russian athletes. Because punishing innocent people for their leader’s bad or controversial decisions is not fair. We cannot sanction an entire nation for the tragic situation and the consequences of this conflict. This is a tragedy for the Ukrainian people and for the Russian people”, emphasized the president of the International Federation.
Asked how he explains the fact that 17 judoka were authorized by the IJF to participate in the 2024 Olympics and only 4 by the IOC, Vizer answered: „During the qualification period, when we authorized the Russian athletes to participate as neutral athletes in the competitions , we chose the athletes based on the survey of an international company, Sportradar. Therefore, we followed their investigation results closely. Those who, according to them, were compromised by the images, by a promotion campaign, by any involvement in promoting the war, were excluded from the competition. And I authorized all those who were not involved. Then, regarding the IOC decision, I cannot make any comment”.
Asked what his current relationship is with Vladimir Putin, who was the honorary president of the IJF until 2022, Marius Vizer stated: „After the invasion, we considered, together with the Executive Committee of the IJF, that it is no longer necessary to have him Honorary President, we have taken the unanimous decision to remove President Putin from this position”.
The president of the IJF also commented on the request addressed to the IOC by the Palestinian Olympic Committee to exclude Israel from the 2024 Olympics. „I think there should be no boycott in the world of sports. Sport should unite people and help them improve and understand each other better. Of course, in a war situation, it is difficult to explain this to both nations involved. But all the athletes should be here”, said the head of the International Judo Federation.
source: adevarul.ro
