For several weeks now, an online petition has been calling for "Suspend Israel from International Sports". The appeal was launched by the left-wing collective movement DiEM25. In the petition paper, fundamental facts are being omitted or deliberately distorted.
In a crushing blow for Vladimir Putin's old-style propaganda system and its systematic doping of young athletes, figure skater Kamila Valieva has been handed a four-year suspension for her positive test in the run-up to the 2022 Winter Olympic in Beijing.
Anders Besseberg, former president of the International Biathlon Union, risks ten years in prison for corruption in a true Nordic Noir crime case that has exposed one of the largest sports scandals in the Nordic democracies in 25 years. Further investigations in other countries are still ongoing.
A few month before the Olympic Games, heralded by the IOC as a renewal of the movement, French sports are still tainted by the most serious scandals at all levels. The latest instance being the mysterious departure of the former president of the fencing federation, Bruno Gares.
A la veille des Jeux olympiques, présentés par le CIO comme le renouveau du mouvement, le sport français reste marqué par les plus graves scandales à tous les niveaux. Dernier exemple en date: le départ mystérieux et les affaires de l'ancien président de la fédération d’escrime, Bruno Gares.
Just in time for the birthday of the Russian would-be oligarch Umar Kremlev, the final sale of the media platform Insidethegames was announced. The new owners, who operate through a strange corporate construct, are old acquaintances and associates of Kremlin-affiliated Kremlev.
Russian-owned betting company 1XBet has been declared bankrupt and owes millions. Yet it still operates, using porn stars to attract punters, and is a partner of FC Barcelona. It expanded into Ukraine, but was recently banned for its support of Putin’s war machine.
While World Athletics president Sebastian Coe sides with democratic nations, the IOC President Thomas Bach rejects their statements on Russia's war of aggression as uninformed and a violation of sport’s autonomy.
FINA has stripped Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia and aggressor in the invasion of Ukraine, of the highest honour of the global regulator, the FINA Order, granted in 2014.
The IOC and the Olympic federations are obliged to punish Russia and its warmonger, Vladimir Putin. Jens Weinreich calls for a comprehensive independent criminal investigation of the longstanding deep connection of the Olympic institutions with the Kremlin within the framework of the EU.
Kamila Valieva' doping case raised questions about a minimum age for Olympic athletes. The Games thrive on high-performing children – some of them so young that they are not even allowed to compete in the Youth Olympic Games. Children are vulnerable to authoritarian states chasing medals and glory.
For decades there has been speculation about information and possibly incriminating material on IOC members and other big names that might be stored in Moscow's secret service archives. If anyone had access to compromat, it was Vladimir Putin. The spying activities span half a century.
IOC's WADA representatives Francesco Ricci Bitti and Patrick Baumann were accused of intimidating Beckie Scott at a 2018 meeting, where a decision was taken to reinstate RUSADA, despite Russia not meeting WADA’s requirements. So why did WADA’s investigation cost the insane amount of $1.6 million?
Hacking implies criminality. Leaking implies opportunism. Whistleblowing implies heroism. A reflection on the subtle differences of publicising dirty dealings.
