Political scientist Rasmussen: barring Russians lowers the level of world sport

Political scientist on the impact of politics on sport

Barring Russian athletes from international competitions harms world sport as a whole, because it reduces competition. This opinion was expressed in an interview with the newspaper Izvestia by political scientist and retired US Army lieutenant colonel Earl Rasmussen. According to him, politics plays the main role in this matter: «I don't think politics should influence sport at all. But very often countries use international competitions and sport as an instrument — in a sense, as another form of sanctions, to exert political influence.» Rasmussen stressed that without Russian athletes, figure skating, ice hockey, biathlon and other disciplines lose quality, since Russians rank among the strongest in many of them.

What is proposed and what has already been decided

Rasmussen believes that international organizations should ensure that the decisions they adopt are implemented. Among possible steps, he cited moving competitions away from the territories of countries not ready to host athletes from Russia, and continuing appeals to sports arbitration. The context of his remarks is a recent court decision: On October 30, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) overturned the decision of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) to bar Russian athletes from competitions. The IIHF admitted that it was disappointed by this outcome, but promised to comply with the court's decision and intends to urgently assess the steps and time needed to implement it and address its consequences. Earlier, the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) also spoke out on Russia's admission.