Text/Shinoda
Due to Western sanctions against Russia, many Russian athletes have not been able to compete in international competitions for a long time, and those Russian athletes who have rushed to participate before the sanctions take effect have also fallen into controversy.
According to the Global Network, a few days ago, 20-year-old Russian athlete Ivan Kuliak won the bronze medal in the men's parallel bars final of the World Cup Gymnastics, and the gold medalist was Ukrainian athlete Ilya Koktton. In the context of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Russian and Ukrainian athletes on the same stage to receive the award has attracted much attention, and a vest with a "Z" worn by Kulyak has set off a storm of public opinion.
Foreign media said that the vest worn by Russian gymnasts should have been the flag of Russia on the chest, but the pattern on Kulyak's chest was the letter "Z", and this letter has recently appeared frequently on Russian military vehicles in Ukraine, so Kulia is deliberately expressing support for Russia's "invasion" behavior.
Kuliak did not respond to the accusations. Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry had said that the "Z" letter on Russian military equipment represented "victory". According to reports, the International Gymnastics Federation criticized Kuliak's behavior as "shocking", and they will investigate the matter and punish him accordingly.
Soon, there was controversy in public opinion. Critics argue that Kuliak is using the sports arena to "advocate war." Their argument is that the "Z" not only appeared on Russian military equipment, but many Russians also wore badges with the "Z" pattern in solidarity with Putin. In addition, the Russian alphabet does not have the letter "Z".
However, some netizens who support Kulyak believe that the Western media is deliberately targeting Russian athletes and has a serious "double standard" in dealing with similar situations. In the recent Bundesliga, Bayern Munich striker and Polish athlete Lewandowski changed the captain's armband to the blue and yellow colors of the Ukrainian flag. Levan made it clear that he did this in support of Ukraine, while the Western media and public opinion were full of praise.
Some foreign netizens mentioned that the INTERNATIONAL Federation intends to punish Kuliak, but the German Football Association has publicly supported Levan's behavior. Later, the Bundesliga also temporarily changed the logo to the theme color of the Ukrainian flag. Ironically, the Premier League subsequently announced that the captains of all clubs would wear Ukrainian flag armbands in the following matches as a sign of solidarity. Therefore, many netizens believe that while the West criticizes Kuliak and bans Russian athletes on the grounds that sports cannot be mixed with politics, it is also engaged in some "politicization" actions in sports events.
(European nations leagues have changed their logos in solidarity with Ukraine)
According to media reports, the competition that Kulyak participated in was the last international event in which Russian gymnasts participated after the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Because since the 7th of this month, the "ban order" made by the INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict has officially entered into force, during which Russian players who want to continue to participate must participate in a personal neutral capacity and cannot represent their country, Russia.
At present, Western sanctions against Russia have spread to more areas. However, even when the West "surrounded" Russia, many countries explicitly refused to impose sanctions on Russia. In the current situation between Russia and Ukraine, "sanctions" and "taking sides" have occupied Western public opinion, but few of them have thought about what to do to resolve the Russian-Ukrainian crisis and return Ukraine to stability as soon as possible.