Autor: Cozmin Gușă

PUTIN WAS SUSPENDED FROM HIS HONORARY FUNCTION, WITHIN THE IJF. OPPORTUNE AND FAIR GESTURE FOR JUDO AND SPORT, BUT INCOMPLETE FOR “MARIUS VIZER, VLADIMIR PUTIN’S FRIEND”!

What Putin is doing these days, the tragic consequences of his anti-humanitarian gestures which he is pursuing within Ukraine, it is clear that he is no longer qualified to honorary preside over world judo, a sport that bases its code of conduct on values ​​that no longer seem to be shared by the Russian president. The situation of Marius Vizer, my former friend and president of the International Judo Federation, is clearly ungrateful and, nevertheless, troublesome for president Putin.
Vizer decided to suspend him, action which would probably be the common sense for the vast majority of national federations, including the Romanian Judo Federation, which I chair. However, the gesture is incomplete, especially from the perspective of Vizer, whose career and support at the top of world Judo were “motorized” exactly by Putin, with whom Vizer also has an old friendship. Nevertheless, Putin has done a lot for Judo in terms of financial support and global publicity, and for these reasons I believe that, especially in these difficult times, he deserves a fair amount of gratitude, either formalized by the IJF, or personally communicated by his old friend, Marius Vizer. Although Putin is wrong nowadays, he is in a difficult situation, in which he might be entitled to the support of his close friends. Or at least, this would be fair, in the spirit of the Judo moral code. Although Putin did not support us personally, at least the Romanian Judo, in particular, I would like to thank him for what he has done for our sport worldwide, but also to urge him to return quickly from the war, towards the negotiation table!
I also suggest Marius Vizer to think about that letter to Putin, especially since Putin was, by all means, his benefactor, and in Judo, our sport, friendship and honor are rule of law!

P.S. If I were in Vizer’s place, being aware of the history of his relationship with Putin, taking into account Putin’s suspension, I would have considered my own suspension from the position of IJF president. With solidarity and fairness!