In March, Russian tournament Ivan Kuliak (20) attracted attention when he competed with the letter “Z” on his chest. The letter has recently become a symbol of support for Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Attention-grabbing war symbols: – Shocking
Kuliak has come under strong criticism, and the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) called the behavior “shocking”. At the same time, they announced an investigation into the incident.
It is now clear that Kuliak will be banned from all international gymnastics competitions for a year. That confirmed FIG in a press release on Tuesday.
Since Kuliak’s participation, the FIG has suspended Russian and Belarusian athletes. If this decision is still in effect within a year, Kuliak’s sentence will be extended by six months.
Russia has not shown any signs of remorse after the incident. In March, he explained why he used the symbol on the suit.
– We were asked to hide the flag – and I hid it. We have been barred from doing everything possible. I just wanted to show you where I came from. I’m not afraid of the consequences and don’t want to hurt anyone. “Z” means “for victory”, “for peace”, says Kuliak according to Russian Sport.ru.
– Ukrainian practitioners came out wearing flags shouting “Respect Ukraine!” on the podium. It’s against the rules, but they do. They also demanded that we be kicked out of the competition, even if we didn’t say or do anything to anyone. I mean, I did what I was supposed to do.
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