Two judokas from the pro-Russian country will be allowed to compete under their flag in Budapest. Ukraine is taking action.
Ukraine will not participate in the Judo World Championships starting on Friday in Budapest in protest against two Belarusians being allowed to compete under their country’s flag for the first time since Russia’s war of aggression began.
According to the Ukrainian Judo Federation, the board of the International Judo Federation (IJF) decided in mid-May that Belarusian judokas would be allowed to represent their country under their flag from June 1. Accordingly, Aleksander Sidorik and Egor Varapayev are on the entry list in the under 90 kg class and will carry their country’s flag, which they have been banned from doing since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine with Belarusian support on February 24, 2022.
The IJF is the first international federation recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to allow the return of the Belarusian flag. The IOC did not initially respond to a request from the AFP news agency regarding the return of the Belarusian flag and the Ukrainian boycott. However, the IJF’s decision clearly violates the recommendations of the Olympic organization, which have remained unchanged since the end of March 2023.
The IJF had allowed Russian and Belarusian judokas to compete under a neutral flag from March to September 2022 before excluding them again in accordance with the IOC’s recommendations at the time. On March 28, 2023, the IOC then recommended that international federations allow athletes with Russian and Belarusian passports to participate under a neutral flag and under strict neutrality conditions, with the exclusion from team competitions remaining in place.
Ukraine boycotted the 2023 Judo World Championships due to a decree issued by the Ukrainian Ministry of Sport prohibiting athletes from its official delegations from participating in competitions with Russian or Belarusian participants. This decree was amended on July 26, 2023, and now only applies to “athletes representing the Russian Federation or the Republic of Belarus.” No Ukrainians are now on the entry list for the World Championships in Budapest, while Russian judokas will compete under a neutral flag.
