Sport

Belarus Paralympians ‘upset and indignant’ at official waving Russian flag

‘It seems to me that there are some circles in our country which try to exploit our team as a tool in achieving some political goals’

Andrei Fomochkin waves a Russian flag as the Belarus team enter the Maracana for the opening ceremony of the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games. Photograph: Adam Davy/PA
Jacob Steinberg in Rio de Janeiro
Fri Sept 09 2016 - 18:55

The chef de mission of the Belarus National Paralympic Committee has condemned the actions of the Belarusian sports ministry official who staged a protest against Russia’s ban from the Paralympics during Wednesday night’s opening ceremony. He said his team has been left “upset and indignant” at being exploited for political gain.

Nikolay Shudeyko said members of the Belarus squad in Rio want to distance themselves from Andrei Fomochkin, who has been praised by the governments of Belarus and Russia after he smuggled a Russian flag past security at the Maracana Stadium and waved it during the parade of athletes. Fomochkin was a guest of the president of the Belarus NPC, Oleg Chepel, who has been a vocal critic of the International Paralympic Committee's decision to ban the Russia Paralympic Committee because of evidence of state-sponsored doping.

The IPC viewed the incident as a political protest because of Fomochkin's close ties to Chepel and removed his credentials. The Kremlin reacted by calling Fomochkin a hero and the press secretary for Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, endorsed the flag waving. Vladimir Lukin, the president of the RPC, also expressed his satisfaction.

But Shudeyko was unimpressed by the way his team has been undermined by an individual with no links to it. “It seems to me that there are some circles in our country which try to exploit our team as a tool in achieving some political goals,” Shudekyo told the Guardian. “We are all upset and completely indignant by such steps. The intention of the Russian government to praise that person looks very frustrating.”

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Shudeyko said he asked Fomochkin for an explanation after the flag was confiscated by the IPC: “He told me that he is a Russian by origin – he was born and lived for a long time in Russia – and he would like to express his support of the Russian Paralympic athletes who were banned.

“I had no idea that this person intended to undertake such an action and was shocked when I saw the flag while marching at the stadium. I told him to take the flag away and after my second demand he took the flag away.

“The person who was carrying the flag is accredited as an accompanying guest of the president and secretary general of the NPC of Belarus. He is not a member of the sporting part of our delegation and he joined our team during the opening ceremony at the last moment.”

The incident has not gone down well in the Belarus camp. Shudeyko is understood to be frustrated with Chepel, who believes that the 267 banned Russian athletes have been treated unfairly by the IPC. Although Philip Craven, the IPC's president, strongly defended the RPC's total exclusion from the Paralympics before the opening ceremony, there had been indications from Chepel that Belarus would show solidarity with Russia.

The IPC took no action against the Belarus team as the incident did not involve any athletes or coaches but it will take a dim view of any more protests. It does not allow statements or protests of a political nature and plans to keep a close eye on medal ceremonies featuring Belarusian competitors.

However Shudeyko apologised during talks with the IPC on Thursday and is annoyed that the controversy has pulled attention away from his team’s efforts in competition. Belarus won their first medal of the Games when Ihar Boki broke the world record in the final of the men’s 100m butterfly (S13) on Thursday night. There were no problems when Boki collected his gold medal and Shudeyko does not expect any of his athletes to fall out of line.

“All officials, coaches and athletes regret this case,” Shudeyko said. “They do not wish to be involved in any violation of existing rules and regulations. They all condemned such action. I understand that it is my fault that I could not prevent the incident in advance as the chef de mission.

“The day prior to the opening ceremony I instructed in detail all athletes, coaches and officials about the rules and procedure of marching and, in particular, about the prohibition of using any political slogans, posters or flags during the ceremony. They all strictly followed those instructions.”

Political symbols are not approved by the IPC. Security staff at the Maracana removed pin badges of Kim Jong-un from members of the North Korean team before the opening ceremony. Yet Fomochkin managed to sneak a Russian flag through the checks.

(Guardian service)