'Exclusion of Russian athletes is a big mistake': Ex-Olympian faces heat over opposing ban

Former Olympic biathlete from France Simon Fourcade spoke to a Russian state media outlet, Match TV, a few days ago and expressed his thoughts about the Russia-Ukraine conflict that has led to Russian athletes getting banned from the sport. The International Biathlon Union (IBU) Executive Board suspended the Russian Biathlon Union (RBU) alongside the Biathlon Federation of Belarus (BiFB) for violating the humanitarian obligations under its constitution. While IBU’s decision last week came as a reaction to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which was supported by Belarus, Fourcade put out comments on the same and defended the Russian athletes.

“Look at China, where the issue of Uyghurs is acute. Nevertheless, they had the Olympic Games. Why didn't the IOC open its mouth about this? Human rights are not respected in Qatar, which became the next host country of the World Cup. Yes, people are dying in Ukraine now. But they die in both Syria and Yemen. Why hasn't the IBU made such decisions before? If you act like this in relation to Russia, you do so in relation to everyone else. We are all friends. We are a biathlon family,” Fourcade added as per Insider.

Dmytro Pidruchnyi slams Simon and Martin Fourcade

However, his comments prompted a heavy backlash from Ukrainian biathlete Dmytro Pidruchnyi, who is currently fighting in the Ukrainian army against Russia. He took to his official Instagram handle on Saturday and put out some strong words for the 2006, 2010, and 2014 Winter Olympian for France. Alongside Simon, Dmytro also criticized his brother Martin Fourcade, who had also commented on whether Russian athletes should be banned or not.

"I hope your children will never feel the pain," says Dmytro Pidruchnyi

“I hope your children will never feel the pain that Ukrainian children have suffered. Children who left their houses, who felt the sound of explosions, who saw their mothers screaming and their children being killed,” Dmytro wrote on Instagram. He also revealed that ever since the war began, he was received test from one Russian athlete, who told him that he was ashamed of what Russia is doing. At the same time, further expressing his thoughts, the Ukrainian biathlete added, “For me, the silence of the Russian and Belarusian athletes means that they have made their choice to support the war. I do not regret at all that they are not present at any international competition."

Image: AP/Instagram- @simonfourcade