In Russia, they made up a reason for the sanctions against athlete Valieva and brought up Putin
Russian lawmaker and Olympic champion Svetlana Zhurova stated that figure skater Kamila Valieva is allegedly “idolized” in many countries. She made this comment in response to the decision to strip the athlete of her neutral status for participation in international competitions.
Zhurova baselessly linked this decision to Valieva’s talent and accused European countries of imposing sanctions against the Russian athlete.
According to this ally of Vladimir Putin’s dictatorial regime, Valieva is allegedly literally idolized in many countries around the world and is seen as a positive symbol of Russia.
“They need to explain why Kamila isn’t being granted neutral status. Of course, one could point to the fact that she is loved and supported in Russia. After all, she captivated everyone with her skating, and people sympathized with her given the situation she found herself in. But Kamila Valieva is idolized in many countries around the world as well. Presumably, this is precisely why she is not being granted neutral status. Many people support her because she has brought something new to figure skating. But people associate her with Russia, and in the West, they believe that Kamila should not be associated with our country as something positive in the world,” said Zhurova.
This is being reported by Russian propaganda media.
Reuters: The ISU has revoked Kamila Valieva’s neutral status.
Fetisov demands that the Olympic gold medal be returned to the controversial figure skater Valieva.
