The world handball community in the vast majority opposes the suspension of athletes from Russia and Belarus. The head coach of the men’s national team of Russia Velimir Petkovic told TASS about it.
Earlier Petkovic said that the head of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach is hypocritical, when he justifies restrictions against Russian and Belarusian sportsmen. He mentioned that he would like to discuss the issue with Bach during the European championship in Germany in January.
— We didn’t meet, Bach was absent in Cologne and Mannheim, but I met with the officials from Germany and other countries. And 90% of them don’t approve the decision of the International Olympic Committee and the International Handball Federation. All our friends, managers and coaches wish Russia and Belarusia — two big countries that mean a lot in handball — would return. They will be happy, when we get back.
The men’s and women’s national teams of Russia were prevented from returning to the international arena since the IOC recommended not to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in team sports and made exclusions only to representatives of individual disciplines. At the same time, Bach repeatedly announced that the recommendation to allow athletes from both countries to participate in neutral status can be explained by the fact that they "shouldn’t be punished for the actions of their governments", — Petkovic said.
Photo: Vasiliy Ponomarev / the HFR press
