Following the earlier suspension and cancellation of russian President Vladimir Putin's honorary chairman and honorary black belt by the International Judo Federation and the World Taekwondo Federation, the World Karate Federation further stated on March 10 to impose sanctions on Russia.
The World Karate Federation announced on March 10 that all karate players in Russia and Belarus will be banned from participating in all competitions affiliated with the association until further notice in the future.
The Executive Committee of the World Karate Federation announced this decision following a recent online meeting. The committee said it decided to ban karate players from Russia and Belarus from participating in the competition in order to maintain the integrity of the sport and ensure the safety of all participants.
Antonio Espinós, president of the World Karate Federation, said:
"People from all walks of life in karate should unite in solidarity with everyone affected by these terrible events."
"While we do not want to punish any athlete or official affected by this war, our aim is to protect the entire karate community because we take karate's values of respect, integrity and honor to heart."
"As we have not scheduled an international event in the near future, we are committed to carefully reviewing all different views and positions to make the right decision that is in the best interests of our sport."
"We have taken the necessary steps and have the full support of the majority of the karate community on this delicate issue."
During the decision-making process, the World Karate Federation consulted the World Karate Federation Athletes' Committee and the National Karate Federation. The World Karate Federation said the ban on Karate athletes in Russia and Belarus would take effect immediately and that it would continue to monitor developments in Ukraine and "constantly evaluate" its decisions.
The World Karate Federation had earlier cancelled Russia's Karate-1 Premier League, which was scheduled to take place in Moscow in October, and the European Karate Federation had cancelled moscow's hosting rights for next year's European Championships.