The Chairman of the International Athlete Rights Association (IARA) Anatoly Peskov proposed to hold the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris (France, 2024) without national flags and anthems.

    According to Anatoly Peskov, depriving athletes of the flag and anthem is not a sports sanctions, these are real political sanctions aimed at punishing and humiliating Russia and its athletes. In his opinion, it is impossible to divide athletes into “bad” and “good” depending on their belonging to certain countries, to force them to renounce the citizenship of their Homeland and their political opinions. This is contrary to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Olympic Charter. This is illegal and immoral.  

    When asked how our athletes should perform at the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris (France, 2014) “with a flag or without a flag”, his answer is direct: only with a flag and an anthem, with a sense of national dignity and pride for Russian sports. No one has the right to humiliate us, neither the IOC, nor WADA, nor the National Olympic Committees of any countries. In his opinion, the struggle for the symbols of the state is the struggle for the existence of Russia. He states: “In my opinion, respect for the national symbols of our country is much more important than the gold medals won by “neutral” athletes who voluntarily refused to recognize themselves as citizens of Russia. National pride and dignity must be above the selfish and ambitious aspirations of athletes. If you want to save a country, save its flag, coat of arms and anthem. If you want to save a combat regiment, do not let the enemy mock the regiment's banner. And you and I must also protect the Russian flag and anthem in international sports. It's a matter of honor for each of us." 

    However, Peskov has an understanding that Russia cannot take the path of self-isolation and, in any case, should remain part of the international sports world. In this regard, he proposes to revive the Goodwill Games, created by the American billionaire Ted Turner in response to the boycott of the Olympic Games in Moscow in 1980 and in Los Angeles in 1984, as well as to initiate the creation of new international sports federations instead of those where for a long time the rights of Russian athletes were violated. In particular, stop funding the World Athletic Federation (World Athletic), which has been blocking the participation of Russian athletes under the national flag for more than seven years. Initiate the creation of a new international athletics federation and the holding of new international athletics competitions in which the Russian flag would have equal rights with the flags of other countries.

   The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the International Athlete Rights Association (IARA) Anatoly Peskov, has more global and radical proposals, generally related to the depoliticization of international sports and the Olympic Games. He wants to recall the earlier proposals made in the IOC on the depoliticization of international sports, and to abandon all national flags and anthems at the Olympic Games for all countries without any exceptions. Also organize participation in parades of teams of athletes not by country, but by individual sports. In his opinion, this idea is very relevant today due to the incredible politicization of international sports and the hysteria around the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the Olympic Games in Paris (France, 2024). It is especially important to discuss this idea now, when sport and the world are on the verge of a split, on the verge of a Third World War, when it is necessary to curb mutual hatred and enmity, and to force the athletes of the warring countries to lay down their arms, as required by the Olympic Truce, and start a peaceful competition. Peskov Anatoly proposes to discuss this idea at the upcoming international Round Table in Novosibirsk on April 3 this year on-line and invites everyone to join this discussion.

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