“This gesture by the members of the Belarusian delegation was made in solidarity with the Russian Paralympians who have been excluded without any confirmation that anti-doping rules have been violated”, said Oleg Shepel, the head of the Belarusian Paralympic Committee.
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Let us remind that a representative of the Belarusian sports delegation Andrei Fomachkin carried Russian flag during the opening parade of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.
It is believed that the Belarusian competitors carried the flag after the Russian team were banned amid allegations of widespread performance-enhancing drug use.
“I want to stress that this is the state position, and this includes the position of the president of the Paralympic committee”, he said.
Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko also commented on Fomochkin’s actions.
IPC President Sir Philip Craven described the anti-doping system in Russia as “broken, corrupted and entirely compromised”, while accusing the Russian Government of “catastrophically failing” its Para-athletes.
The IPC will now watch Belarus’ athletes carefully, especially at medal ceremonies, and as it has shown with Mr Fomochkin’s punishment, it will not be afraid to strip the accreditation of others who break the strict ban on political protest.
“Let the God be the judge for all those, who used to say that everything is all right with us and then barred us from the Paralympic Games”, he said.
Following the failure of the appeal, major Russian broadcasters have decided not to air the 2016 Paralympic Games.
Spence said the Belarus team was searched before entering the stadium.
“A hero has appeared today amongst us”. If you would like to discuss another topic, look for a relevant article.
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