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The International Olympic Committee says it is exploring options for Russia’s return to international competitions Athletes from Russia and Belarus could participate in Olympic qualification events in Asia, as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) examines options for the return of both countries to international sporting […]
The International Olympic Committee says it is exploring options for Russia’s return to international competitions
Athletes from Russia and Belarus could participate in Olympic qualification events in Asia, as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) examines options for the return of both countries to international sporting events, it said in a statement on Wednesday.
The sports elite from Russia and Belarus have been restricted from competing in various events over the last eleven months after the IOC announced the introduction of sanctions soon after the onset of Russia’s military action in Ukraine last year.
More recently, IOC president Thomas Bach has stated that while he believes that sanctions should continue against the governments of Russia and Belarus, he hoped to explore ways for athletes from the two affected countries to continue to compete in the international field, provided that they satisfy certain criteria.
In a media release on Wednesday, the IOC said that it “welcomed and appreciated the offer from the Olympic Council of Asia to give [Russian and Belarusian] athletes access to Asian competitions.”
This could potentially clear a pathway for athletes from these countries to qualify for the next Olympic Games in Paris in 2024. Many athletes are currently unable to compete in European Olympic qualifying events due to the wave of sanctions introduced by the IOC last year.
Statement on solidarity with Ukraine, sanctions against Russia and Belarus, and the status of athletes from these countries👇 https://t.co/OGk1HqoN1N
The IOC has stated that it believes that Russians and Belarusians should be permitted to compete in Paris under a neutral Olympic flag; however, questions remain as to how competitors from both countries could qualify.
It added: “No athlete should be prevented from competing just because of their passport” and that “a pathway for athletes’ participation in competition under strict conditions should therefore be further explored.”
The “strict conditions” announced by the IOC include a requirement to “fully respect the Olympic Charter,” which it defines as ruling out any athlete who professes support for the military operation in Ukraine.
Furthermore, athletes must be fully compliant with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) code.
Among the factors discussed by the IOC ahead of the release of the statement was a communication from Special Rapporteurs in the fields of ‘cultural rights’ and on “contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance of the United Nations Human Rights Council.“
“We express serious concern, however, about the recommendation to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials such as judges from international competitions, based solely on their nationality, as a matter of principle. This raises serious issues of non-discrimination,” the letter from the Special Rapporteurs said.
In a message on Telegram this week, Ukraine president Vladimir Zelensky said that he spoke to his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron and told him that he believed the Russian athletes should have “no place” at the Paris Olympics.
Various qualifying events for Paris 2024 have already begun, with more than 10,000 athletes from numerous countries attempting to secure entry to the event, which will feature a total of 32 sports.
Displaying the country’s tricolor has been banned at the Grand Slam tennis event Four people were detained and questioned by authorities after a Russian flag bearing the image of President Vladimir Putin was displayed at the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament following a match […]
Displaying the country’s tricolor has been banned at the Grand Slam tennis event
Four people were detained and questioned by authorities after a Russian flag bearing the image of President Vladimir Putin was displayed at the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament following a match between Serbia’s Novak Djokovic and Russia’s Andrey Rublev.
A group of people congregated outside the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne after Djokovic’s comprehensive three-set win, with chants of “Serbia, Russia” heard from the group, while a man wearing a ‘Z’ symbol on his T-shirt was also seen to be displaying the Russian flag.
Another man was spotted wearing a ‘Z’ shirt inside the arena during the match.
It comes after the organizers of the event, Tennis Australia, introduced a ban on the display of Russian and Belarusian flags shortly after the beginning of the tournament, when a fan displayed the Russian tricolor during a match between Ukraine’s Kateryna Baindl and Russian player Kamilla Rakhimova.
Russian and Belarusian players are free to compete at the tournament but without mention of their nationalities or other national symbols.
“Four people in the crowd leaving the stadium revealed inappropriate flags and symbols and threatened security guards,” Tennis Australia said in a statement.
“Victoria Police intervened and are continuing to question them. The comfort and safety of everyone is our priority and we work closely with security and authorities.”
The incident comes several days after Russia’s Andrey Rublev complained to the chair umpire during his second-round match with Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori that supporters were verbally abusing him during the match, and draping a Ukrainian flag over advertising hoardings.
“It was not about the flag,” Rublev said afterwards. “I said straightaway to the referee, it’s not about the flag, they can put any flag they want, I understand completely the situation.
“It was more that they started to tell me bad words and bad things.”
One Russian player, Karen Khachanov, remains on the men’s side of the draw and will play Stefanos Tsitsipas in Friday’s semifinal, while two Belarusian female players, Victoria Azarenka and Aryna Sabalenka, are on course to meet in the Australian Open final provided they both win their semifinal matchups on Thursday.
Russian players were banned from the English Grand Slam event last year A ban on Russian players playing at Wimbledon will be reversed this year, Russian Tennis Federation (RTF) president Shamil Tarpishchev predicts. In 2022, the organizers of the annual grass court Grand Slam event, […]
Russian players were banned from the English Grand Slam event last year
A ban on Russian players playing at Wimbledon will be reversed this year, Russian Tennis Federation (RTF) president Shamil Tarpishchev predicts.
In 2022, the organizers of the annual grass court Grand Slam event, the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), announced a blanket ban on players from both Russia and Belarus due to the ongoing hostilities in Ukraine.
This meant that highly ranked players such as the Russian duo of Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev, as well as the Belarusian female player Aryna Sabalenka, were prohibited from competing at the event.
The ban came in contrast to measures imposed by other events, such as the US Open which permitted Russian participants so long as they competed under a neutral flag.
As a result of the Wimbledon ban, the governing bodies of male and female tennis, the ATP and WTA as well as the International Tennis Federation, withdrew ranking points from the event, prompting significant disruption to the rankings system and effectively rendering the event an exhibition tournament.
But according to Tarpishchev, no such restrictions will be imposed this year.
“There is no doubt. The position of the ITF is that athletes are selected purely by rating, and not by nationality in relation to all tournaments in different countries of the world.
“Everything else will be a violation by the organizers and no one else.”
Despite the ban, last year’s women’s singles category at Wimbledon was won by the Moscow-born Elena Rybakina, who has represented Kazakhstan on the international stage since she was 19.
The Serbian ace remains on course for a tenth title Down Under Novak Djokovic’s quest for a record-equalling 22nd Grand Slam title remains on course after the Serbian star turned in a devastating performance to defeat Russia’s Andrey Rublev in their Australian Open quarterfinal clash […]
The Serbian ace remains on course for a tenth title Down Under
Novak Djokovic’s quest for a record-equalling 22nd Grand Slam title remains on course after the Serbian star turned in a devastating performance to defeat Russia’s Andrey Rublev in their Australian Open quarterfinal clash on Wednesday.
Nine-time champion Djokovic, who was controversially deported from Australia ahead of last year’s tournament, remains on course for yet another title after recording his 26th consecutive win in Melbourne, blitzing the Russian challenger in just over two hours of action (6-1, 6-2, 6-4).
The Serb showed no sign of the hamstring issue which he has been battling throughout the tournament as he dominated on his own serve throughout the match, and fired back a series of excellently-timed return shots on several Rublev service games.
Rublev, who overcame an intense five-round battle with Denmark’s Holger Rune on Monday, couldn’t find any semblance of a foothold early as Djokovic swept through the first and second sets, losing just three games along the way.
The Russian showed a measure of resistance in the third but was ultimately powerless to stop a rampaging Djokovic, who fired 14 aces and 32 winners past him.
Djokovic also held his nerve throughout rare instances of a Rublev fightback, saving every one of the five break points he faced in the match.
“It was very close to the performance of two nights ago [the fourth round],” said Djokovic afterwards. “I cannot be happier with my tennis.
“I’ve been playing very solid from the back of the court, love playing in these conditions and this court.”
For Rublev, it is the seventh time he has been defeated in a Grand Slam quarterfinal and continues his unfortunate sequence of losing every Grand Slam quarterfinal he has ever played in – just the second player in the Open Era to do so.
Djokovic, meanwhile, was again targeted by sporadic heckling during the match, prompting him to complain to the chair umpire in the first set – though this only served to briefly delay the inevitable.
If he maintains his impressive form in Australia all the way to Sunday’s final, Djokovic will go level with rival Rafael Nadal on the all-time Grand Slam winners’ list.
To do so, he will have to bypass Tommy Paul in Friday’s seminal after the American triumphed over Ben Shelton in four sets earlier on Wednesday.
The winner of that clash will play either Stefanos Tsitsipas or Karen Khachanov in the final.
Athletes from the country may be permitted to compete as neutrals at Paris 2024 Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has called on his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron to prevent Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing at next year’s Olympic Games in Paris. There have been significant […]
Athletes from the country may be permitted to compete as neutrals at Paris 2024
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has called on his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron to prevent Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing at next year’s Olympic Games in Paris.
There have been significant restrictions imposed upon Russian sports since the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued sanctions last year shortly after the onset of the military operation in Ukraine.
However, the IOC has appeared to be considering a return to the international sporting fold of athletes from both countries in Asia-based qualification events for Paris 2024, provided that they compete as neutrals and without national symbols such as flags and anthems.
Zelensky held discussions with IOC president Thomas Bach in December in which he said he was “upset” at the potential Olympic inclusions of Russian and Belarusian athletes – and he echoed this stance in a discussion with the French leader.
“I particularly emphasized that athletes from Russia should have no place at the Olympic Games in Paris,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram.
Both Bach and Macron have stated recently that a path needs to be found which respects an athlete’s right to compete regardless of the political stances of their government, with Bach saying last month that “we need to explore ways to overcome this dilemma with regard to athletes’ participation and come back to the sporting merits, and not to political interference.”
Macron also noted that “sport should not be politicized” and that “athletes from all countries, sometimes including countries at war” should be included in global events such as the Olympic Games.
Bach, though, has insisted that the current sanctions against Russia and Belarus must remain in place for the time being but that certain restrictions, such as a ban on the display of Russian or Belarusian flags must “remain firmly in place.”
He added: “The question of the participation of athletes is very different from the question of sanctions for their government.”
Paris will host the Olympic Games for the first time since 1924 next summer between July 26 and August 11, with the Paralympics starting on August 28.
Islam Makhachev takes on the biggest challenge of his career next month If Islam Makhachev is to become the first fighter in a decade to defeat UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, he must do so without the influence of close friend and training partner Khabib […]
Islam Makhachev takes on the biggest challenge of his career next month
If Islam Makhachev is to become the first fighter in a decade to defeat UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, he must do so without the influence of close friend and training partner Khabib Nurmagomedov in his corner.
Makhachev takes on the first defense of the UFC lightweight title he won last October when he welcomes reigning featherweight king Volkanovski to 155lbs at next month’s UFC 284 in front of what is expected to be a fiercely partisan Perth crowd cheering on the Australian champion.
The scale of the task awaiting Makhachev is already apparent but it has been made that much more difficult by the impending absence of former champion Nurmagomedov, who recently announced that he has decided to step away from mixed martial arts entirely to spend more time with his family.
But, according to Makhachev, this won’t change the outcome of the fight.
“When the cage door close, no one is there for you,” Makhachev said this week at a media event in Australia promoting the fight alongside Volkanovski.
“Of course, it’s going to be different but I’ve already fought without [Khabib there] a couple of times. And he cannot always be with me. Of course, it’s very good when he is here.
“I always like when he is with me because he knows all the games being played. He knows what you need for the fight, for the weight cut, you don’t have to worry about any of this.
“It’s always good when you have someone as experienced as him. You don’t have to spend your energy thinking about other things. But I understand that he has to spend more time with his family. Because with all the fighting, the training, his family miss him too. Even though he is retired he’s still traveling a lot.
“That’s why I understand.”
Despite Khabib’s insistence that he was withdrawing from the sport, many had expected him to do so only after February’s fight.
Nurmagomedov, who previously held the UFC lightweight title which now rests on Makhachev’s shoulder, seemed to be key in helping to arrange the fight – even calling for Volkanovski to be the first title defense just moments after Makhachev won the vacant championship by submitting Charles Oliveira.
Khabib had a tremendously successful coaching run in 2022, overseeing the rise to world titles of both Makhachev and his cousin Usman Nurmagomedov, who won the Bellator lightweight championship in November.
But the man whose goal it is to seize the title belt next month in Perth says that he is only concerning himself with the fighter who will be standing opposite him when the cage door shuts on February 11.
“They better not use it as an excuse once this is all done,” Volkanovski said.
“At the end of the day, Makhachev will prepare and we’re going to fight. He doesn’t need someone to hold his hand. Doesn’t need someone to be in there with him. That’s not a real fighter.
“So when my hand gets raised, that better not come up.”
Russian football teams have been suspended from European competition since last February The Russian Football Union (RFU) will hold further talks with UEFA in February regarding the reinstatement of Russia’s club and national sides in European competitions, the RFU press office said in a statement […]
Russian football teams have been suspended from European competition since last February
The Russian Football Union (RFU) will hold further talks with UEFA in February regarding the reinstatement of Russia’s club and national sides in European competitions, the RFU press office said in a statement on Tuesday.
UEFA joined FIFA last year in imposing a large-scale suspension on Russia’s club and international teams following the outbreak of the Ukraine conflict, restricting the ability of Russian clubs to compete in European competitions such as the UEFA Champions League.
The Russian national team was also excluded from a qualification series which could have resulted in their participation at the recent FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
It was revealed in November by its president Alexander Dyukov that the RFU was considering an application to leave UEFA and join its Asian equivalent, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) as a result of the ongoing suspension.
However, these discussions were postponed indefinitely and the RFU initiated a task group mandated to interact with UEFA officials regarding a potential return to the European football fold – with talks held on Tuesday ahead of Wednesday’s meeting of the UEFA executive committee in Nyon, Switzerland.
“The working meeting between the RFU and UEFA is over,” the RFU statement read. “The key issue on the meeting’s agenda was the return of the Russian national teams and [football] clubs to international tournaments.
“Both sides have come to the terms of their further interaction and agreed to maintain contact. The next face-to-face meeting between the RFU and UEFA is scheduled for February.”
The Russian national team has played three friendly matches since the implementation of the suspension. Valeri Karpin’s men secured a 2-1 victory against Kyrgyzstan in September, but were held to 0-0 draws against both Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in November.
In addition to the national team, Russian club sides have also been restricted from participating in competitions such as the UEFA Champions League.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended sanctions on Russian sport following the launch of military action against Ukraine in February 2022, measures which have since been adopted by numerous other sports federations around the globe.
George Foreman is one of the most famous heavyweights in boxing history Former world heavyweight champion boxer George Foreman, 74, has filed counter legal proceedings against a woman who has accused him of sexual abuse more than 40 years ago, when she was a minor. […]
George Foreman is one of the most famous heavyweights in boxing history
Former world heavyweight champion boxer George Foreman, 74, has filed counter legal proceedings against a woman who has accused him of sexual abuse more than 40 years ago, when she was a minor.
Foreman, who fought Muhammad Ali in the most famous boxing match in history – The Rumble in the Jungle – is alleging that he is being targeted in an extortion attempt, in a statement released last summer, referring to accusations that he’d sexually abused two women in the 1970s as “baseless threats and lies.”
On Monday, the ex-boxer filed a counter lawsuit against one of the women, known only as Gwen H., who had alleged that she was groomed and eventually abused by Foreman while she was underage.
In legal documents seen by TMZ Sports, Foreman’s legal team are said to be aware that they are powerless to sue the woman over the allegations in her own lawsuit but state that he is now entitled to pursue legal proceedings due to a news conference held by the alleged victim three months after she initially filed her claim.
Foreman’s countersuit says that the allegations made against him are “entirely fabricated” and that there is “zero corroborating evidence in the form of documents, photographs, letters, or witnesses to support … false claims against Foreman.”
It is understood that the father of Gwen H. was employed by Foreman at the time and she claims that she was told by the boxer that her father would be fired if she went public with the alleged abuse.
Foreman has also detailed that Gwen H. had allegedly demanded a sum of $12 million from him in order to prevent the launch of legal proceedings.
He also claims that he has suffered from “anxiety, sleeplessness, worry, shock and humiliation” since his accuser’s news conference. He is seeking unspecified damages in his lawsuit.
Foreman began his professional boxing career in 1969 and retired in November 1997 with a record of 76-5. He became the oldest world heavyweight champion in boxing history when he defeated Michael Moorer for the world title in 1995 at the age of 46 years, five months and 18 days.
The country will also be stripped of hosting rights for the UEFA Super Cup Russian football clubs will remain banned from participating in European club competitions, following a meeting of UEFA’s executive committee on Wednesday, according to Sky News. UEFA and FIFA imposed a large-scale […]
The country will also be stripped of hosting rights for the UEFA Super Cup
Russian football clubs will remain banned from participating in European club competitions, following a meeting of UEFA’s executive committee on Wednesday, according to Sky News.
UEFA and FIFA imposed a large-scale suspension on Russian football clubs in February last year, soon after the onset of the conflict with Ukraine, while the Russian national team was also effectively suspended from participating in the recent FIFA World Cup in Qatar after a playoff fixture was cancelled.
Russia’s women’s team were also banned from last year’s European Championships, and the men’s team has also been suspended from qualification for the 2024 European Championships.
The measures were later upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) following appeals by the Russian Football Union (RFU) and various club teams.
It was reported that figures from within the RFU had anticipated discussions with UEFA surrounding the potential reintegration of Russian clubs and national sides to European competitions such as the UEFA Champions League or European Championships at Wednesday’s executive committee meeting.
However, Sky News reported that UEFA has opted to extend the current suspension – meaning that Russian football will continue to remain outside the accepted European football infrastructure.
UEFA is also said to be eager to discuss the more general state of Russian domestic football and how Russian teams might one day be reinstated, though it appears that any such move may be dependent on the reduction of hostilities with Ukraine.
Neither the RFU nor UEFA have so far commented on the reports.
UEFA is also expected to announce that Kazan has been removed as the host city for the 2023 UEFA Super Cup fixture which takes place annually between the winners of the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League.
A new host city is expected to be announced in due course.
This comes after Saint Petersburg was removed as the host of the 2022 UEFA Champions League final, with the match instead being moved to Paris.
Russia, which previously hosted the 2018 FIFA World Cup, has also been heavily linked to a potential switch from European football’s governing body UEFA to its Asian equivalent, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
The Blues has spent vast sums of money since Roman Abramovich sold the Premier League club UEFA is set to close a financial loophole exploited by Chelsea in recent months which has seen the Premier League giants spread the cost of their transfer spend over […]
The Blues has spent vast sums of money since Roman Abramovich sold the Premier League club
UEFA is set to close a financial loophole exploited by Chelsea in recent months which has seen the Premier League giants spread the cost of their transfer spend over as many as eight seasons, according to reports.
European football’s governing body has heeded complaints from several Premier League clubs that objected to Chelsea’s eye-watering transfer spree, which has seen them spend more than £460 million ($566 million) since the summer transfer window opened in 2022.
Chelsea, who are now operated by US businessman Todd Boehly, have largely bypassed Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations by using an accounting technique called amortization to spread transfer fees over extended periods – such as the eight years over which Mikhail Mudryk’s transfer fee will be applied to Chelsea’s books.
Ukraine international Mudryk joined the club earlier this month for a potential fee of £88 million ($108 million) from Shakhtar Donetsk on an eight-and-a-half-year contract.
Chelsea a fait signer des contrats de 7 et 8 ans sur ses nouveaux joueurs afin de réduire le coût des transferts sur la période de reporting du FPF. Face à cette technique comptable, l'UEFA voudrait imposer dès cet été une durée maximum de 5 ans sur l'analyse des contrats https://t.co/E5l9q1Q8JB
FFP regulations state that clubs may only spend a certain percentage of their financial revenue on transfer fees – but this has been bypassed by Chelsea, who will account for the Mudryk transfer sum over the course of eight years at an average annual cost of around £11 million ($13.5 million), a figure which falls well within the club’s FFP requirements.
However, it has been reported by the Daily Mail that from next summer clubs will only be able to amortize transfer spend across a maximum of five years. Clubs, though, will continue to be able to offer contracts which extend for more than five years.
Boehly, who is also the co-owner of the Major League Baseball franchise the LA Dodgers, has developed a reputation in the early days of his control of Chelsea for offering unusually lengthy contracts – mirroring similar measures which are commonplace in US sports.
In addition to Mudryk, other signings like Marc Cucurella, Wesley Fofana, David Datro Fofana and Benoit Badiashile have signed long contracts since joining Chelsea.
The changes to be implemented by UEFA, though, will not come into effect until this summer at the earliest, meaning Chelsea will have until the end of the January transfer window to continue their spending.
Chelsea’s £460 million ($566 million) outlay under Boehly has shattered the previous Premier League spending record, which Manchester City set at £328 million ($403 million) in the 2017-18 season.
Their colossal spend shows no sign of stopping. Argentina’s World Cup winning midfielder Enzo Fernandez remains linked to Chelsea in a potential deal which could cost in excess of £100 million ($123 million), while 19-year-old French defender Malo Gusto is also a target.
Chelsea are currently languishing in tenth place in the Premier League standings, ten points off the Champions League places.
