This week the International Ski Federation (FIS) is holding committee meetings in Switzerland, and when it became known that they opened for representatives from both Russia and Belarus, the Norwegian Ski Federation made it clear that they are withdrawing all Norwegian representatives from meetings where there are representatives from the aforementioned nations . Several of the around 30 people from the Norwegian Ski Association were already there. Among them the jumpers’ national team manager Clas Brede Bråthen. He chose today to leave a meeting in Zurich. – There were participants from Belarus present at that meeting with the jumping committee and then we chose to leave the meeting, in accordance with the decision taken by the Ski Board yesterday, he says. Bråthen was not aware that there would be participation from Belarus ahead of the meeting, which was not the case when he was at a meeting on Wednesday. – It was a good decision, states Bråthen, who will not attend any more meetings in Zurich. – There were no big scenes when we left the meeting. We did what we thought was the right thing to do. We have not been given any instructions on how to do it, and left the room quietly when we realized that there was a representative from Belarus there. The meeting is still ongoing, so I don’t know if anyone reacted, he explains when news speaks to him on the phone. – Should have avoided being in the situation news’s sports commentator, Jan Petter Saltvedt, supports Bråthen. – That is the only possible way of reacting. He should have been allowed to be in it in the situation, but once he is there, it is the only sensible way to react, he says. Because at the same time he points a finger at the Norwegian Ski Association. – The most surprising thing is that no one in the management of Ski-Norge has foreseen that this situation could arise when they traveled to Zurich, because it is no secret that there is no decision to ban Russian or Belarusian delegates or representatives from the committees in question, and the positions in FIS. Then it is natural that they show up, says Saltvedt. Experiences understanding FIS board member Erik Røste supports the Ski Board’s decision, and says that Norway’s clear attitude has been noticed in Switzerland. FIS BOARD MEMBER: Erik Røste is in place in Zurich. Photo: Annika Byrde / NTB – These are hectic days here, but no one is unaffected by the situation and the war in Ukraine. I feel so far that there is understanding for the decision (to Norway), he says to news. Røste does not know how or whether Russian and Belarusian representatives have reacted to Norway. The Skiing Association has emphasized that they want the ban on Russian athletes to also apply to those at political and administrative level. – It must be discussed. My opinion is that when you exclude the athletes, there must also be consequences for the official managers, says Røste. – The matter will be discussed again in October. In my eyes, there is one man who holds the key to whether Russian sport will be brought back into the spotlight: He sits in the 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 forcefully, answers Røste. Putin against sporting sanctions At the same time as the discussions are ongoing both inside and outside the FIS, Putin expresses that he has little understanding of the sanctions against Russian sport. – The aggressive sanctions aimed at the country and our citizens affect many areas, including top sport. Russian athletes are deprived of the opportunity to represent their country, and Russia’s voice in international organizations is deliberately ignored. AGAINST SANCTIONS: Russian President Vladimir Putin believes his athletes have been “robbed” of an opportunity. Photo: SPUTNIK / Reuters This is what Vladimir Putin says in a letter shown during a sports seminar in Kuzbass in Siberia, according to the TASS news agency. There are a number of Russian athletes, sports profiles and politicians now gathered. – This situation contradicts the values of sport, where the most important are mutual respect and the principle that “sport is not politics”, says Putin, adding that Russia is willing to hold international sporting events. – The fact that he spends time on it now actually shows how important sport is to him, and should be an encouragement to everyone who works to keep Russia and Belarus away from sport as a response to the acts of war in Ukraine, emphasizes Saltvedt.
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