Ukrainian tennis player spoke out against the condemnation of Russian athletes

The second racket of Ukraine in doubles Oleg Prikhodko opposed the condemnation of Russian athletes.

Prikhodko, whose words are quoted by the Big Tennis of Ukraine portal, noted that he played with Russian Yan Bondarevsky last spring, because he is his friend.

“And I played a couple with my friend: for me, nationality does not matter. In my opinion, a person should be judged for his actions, and not according to his nationality,” the Ukrainian tennis player stressed, noting that the Ukrainian Tennis Federation “applies the experience of dissidents in the Soviet era, when people were condemned for disagreeing with public views.”

Prikhodko also expressed his attitude to the possible removal of Russian and Belarusian athletes from the Olympics in Paris. The Ukrainian pointed out that for athletes this is a dream to which they have been going all their lives. The tennis player said that sport should unite people, and now the Olympics are being turned into “a part of the war.”

Earlier, the head of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Andrea Gaudenzi spoke out against the removal of Russian athletes from international competitions.

Earlier, the head of the IOC, Thomas Bach, admitted that Russian and Belarusian athletes would compete at the Olympics under a neutral flag. According to him, the removal of athletes on the basis of their passports is not in line with the values ​​of the Olympic Charter.

Representatives of the organizing committee of the 2024 Olympic Games announced that they would comply with the sanctions imposed by the IOC against athletes from Russia and Belarus. Even the organization emphasized that the selection system for the Olympics is determined not by the organizing committee, but by the IOC and international federations.

In Russia, they condemned the interference of politicians in the affairs of athletes. The Minister of Sports of the Russian Federation Oleg Matytsin said earlier that attempts to dictate the conditions for the participation of athletes in international competitions are unacceptable.

The Summer Olympics in Paris will take place from July 26 to August 11 next year.