This week, the International SKI Federation (FIS) held a committee meeting in Switzerland, and when it was discovered that they opened representatives from Russia and Belarus, the Norwegian SKI federation explained that they were withdraw all Norwegian representatives from meetings where there are representatives from those countries.

Some of the 30 or so people from the Norwegian Ski Association were already there. Among them the manager of the Clas Brede national jumping team Bråthen. He chose today to leave the meeting in Zurich.

There were participants from Belarus who attended the meeting with the jumping committee and then we chose to leave the meeting, in accordance with the decision taken by the SKI Council yesterday, he said.

Bråthen did not realize that there would be participation from Belarus ahead of the meeting, which did not occur when he was at a meeting on Wednesday.

– It was a good decision, said Bråthen, who will not be attending the meeting again in Zurich.

There was no big scene when we left the meeting. We do what we think is the right thing to do. We have not been given instructions on how to do it, and leave the room quietly when we realize that there are representatives from Belarus there. The meeting is still going on so I don’t know if anyone has any reaction, he explained when NRK spoke to him on the phone.

– should have avoided being in this situation

NRK sports commentator Jan Petter Saltvedt supports Bråthen.

That’s the only way to react. He should be allowed in it in the situation, but once he was there, it was the only reason that made sense to react, he said.

Because at the same time he pointed the finger at the Norwegian Ski Association.

The most surprising thing is that none of the Ski-Norwegian management estimates that this situation can arise when they travel to Zurich, because it is no longer a secret that there is no decision to prohibit delegates or Russian representatives or Belarus from the Committee in the question, and posting In FIS. So naturally if they appear, said Saltvedt.

Understanding experience

FIS board member, Erik Røste, supported the Ski Council’s decision, and said that Norway’s clear stance had been noticed in Switzerland.

It’s a busy day here, but no one is left untouched by the situation and the war in Ukraine. I feel that so far there is an understanding for the decision (to Norway), he told NRK.

RØte does not know how or whether Russian and Belarus representatives react to Norway. The SKI association has emphasized that they want the prohibition of Russian athletes to apply to those who are at the political and administrative levels.

It must be discussed. My opinion is when you exclude athletes, there must also be consequences for official managers, said RØte.

– The problem will be discussed again in October. In my eyes, there is one person who holds the key to whether Russian sports will return to the spotlight: he sits in Kremlin and his name is Vladimir Putin. As long as the brutality continues in Ukraine, in my opinion there is no other choice but to react by force, RØte answered.

Putin opposed sports sanctions

At the same time that the discussion was ongoing both inside and outside the FIS, Putin stated that he had a little understanding of sanctions for Russian sports.

– Aggressive sanctions aimed at our country and citizens affect many fields, including top sports. Russian athletes lost the opportunity to represent their country, and Russia’s voices in international organizations were deliberately ignored.

This is what Vladimir Putin said in the letter shown during a sports seminar in Kuzbass in Siberia, according to the news agency . There are a number of Russian athletes, sports profiles, and politicians now gather.

– This situation is contrary to the values ​​of sports, where the most important thing is to respect each other and the principle that “sports are not politics,” Putin said, adding that Russia was willing to hold international sports events.

The fact that he spent time for that now really shows how important sports for him are, and must be an encouragement for all those who work to keep Russia and Belarus from sports in response to the acts of war in Ukraine, said Saltvedt.