NOVOCHEBOKSARSK, October 9 (RIA Novosti) – Calls to boycott the 2018 football World Cup in Russia are meaningless, Wilfried Lemke, United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace special adviser, said Thursday.
Calls to boycott the tournament that are part of extended sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine crisis are wrong and insane, Lemke said at the Fifth International Sport Forum “Russia – Country of Sports” in the Russian city of Cheboksary.
The UN representative pointed out that some countries that boycotted the 1980 Moscow and 1984 Los Angeles Olympics subsequently regretted the decision.
International sport organizations have to do everything in their power to protect sport from being dragged into politics, Lemke underlined.
Earlier in the day, the UN special adviser held talks with Russian Sport Minister Vitaly Mutko on the sidelines of the forum. Lemke described Russia as "a reliable partner in many sporting movements and once again expressed his great appreciation for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Russia,” the minister said.
The forum, dedicated to sport’s important role in society, is taking place in Cheboksary on October 9-11.
In September, a number of news outlets reported that the European Commission was considering suspending Russia’s membership in international sports organizations, preventing Russian football teams from competing in European tournaments and even stripping Russia of the rights to host the 2018 World Cup.
Though the European Union does not hold the authority to prevent Russia from participating in international sporting events, it may try to affect other countries and sponsors through lobbying.
The European Union has imposed several rounds of economic sanctions on Moscow in light of the Ukrainian crisis. Russia responded with a one-year ban on the import of certain food products from the bloc, including meat, dairy, fruit and vegetables.
