Does it still make sense to punish Russian athletes for war? – 07/14/2023 – Marina Izidro

If you’ve been following the Wimbledon tennis tournament, you’ve seen that one of the novelties of this edition is the return of Russians and Belarusians, banned last year because of the war in Ukraine. They are competing as neutrals and had to pledge not to display any symbols of support for the governments of Vladimir Putin and Aleksandr Lukachenko, such as flags on their uniforms. This goes for viewers as well.

Just to put it in context, the UK is a strong ally of Ukraine and has already imposed several sanctions on Russians in British territory. News of the war is daily in the newspapers, those who live in the United Kingdom feel the economic effects on the cost of living caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with support from Belarus. Wimbledon also made a point of taking a stand, banning participation in 2022 and allowing it with restrictions in 2023.

Ukrainian athletes, many with friends and family still suffering from Russian missile strikes, believe the sport is failing them by letting the likes of Veronika Kudermetova return to the court. The Russian is sponsored by an oil and gas company in her country that is accused of collaborating with the war, supplying fuel and tires. The tennis player removed the company logo from her kit at Wimbledon.

The Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, active in the defense of her country and against the war, decided that she no longer shakes hands with tennis players from Russia or Belarus when greeting in the net at the end of the matches. It was like that when he beat Victoria Azarenka in the round of 16, causing a tight match.

As soon as the match was over, Azarenka, already knowing that her rival would not shake her hand, did not even go to the net. The public did not understand and booed the Belarusian, thinking it was an unsportsmanlike gesture. Asked at the press conference, Azarenka said she was respecting Svitolina’s wishes and that the focus should be on tennis, not “an audience of booing drunks”.

In March of last year, days after the start of the war, I wrote a column saying that I thought it was right to punish Russian athletes, at a time when many countries and federations were banning competitors from Russia and Belarus.

I reproduce an excerpt: “It matters because authoritarian regimes use sport as a power tool to improve their own image. It matters because giving a country the privilege of hosting international events generates money and prestige. It matters because talking about the subject outside the political sphere allows that people see that there is something wrong and ask questions”.

It’s a complex issue: should they pay for their rulers’ mistakes? A year and four months after that column, I continue to advocate that Russia be prohibited from hosting sporting events, and I have a slightly more lenient position with regard to the participation of athletes from these countries in tournaments. Many are not to blame, are openly against the war and don’t even live in Russia or Belarus anymore. At the same time, I understand and support the position of tennis players with Svitolina.

In the women’s final at Wimbledon, this weekend, the focus will be solely on sport, as the confrontation is between Ons Jabeur, from Tunisia, and Markéta Vondrousová, from the Czech Republic. Two potential finalists, Svitolina and Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, stopped in the semifinals. But, you can be sure, the controversy between Russians, Belarusians and Ukrainians only took a break. At most, until the next tournament.

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