IOC President Thomas Bach appreciates ATP for handing LTA a fine of $1 million for its decision to ban Russians from Wimbledon and other events in the UK
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Thomas Bach, President of IOC supports fine on LTA for not allowing Russians for Wimbledon and other events in UK
The ATP took a massive decision as they handed UK’s Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) a huge fine of $1 million. The fine comes months after the tennis governing body’s decision to not allow players from Russia and Belarus to participate in any event in the UK owing to the Ukraine-Russia war.
The decision meant that the players from the two nations were not allowed to play in the 2022 Wimbledon Championships, one of the biggest events in the sport. Despite ATP and WTA disagreeing with the decision, the LTA, backed by the UK government, held its ground and continued with the ban. The ATP and WTA had to eventually strip Wimbledon of all ranking points, making it just a high-paying tournament for players.
While almost all the eligible players turned up at Wimbledon, the Grand Slam on grass remained a talking point in sporting circles. International Olympic Committee‘s (IOC) president Thomas Bach had been critical of the decision. With the ATP now handing a huge fine to LTA, Bach has once again made his feelings clear on the whole episode.
“Governments should not be deciding on political grounds who is participating in which sport events. Qualification for sports events must be on sporting merits and not on political interference. This is against all the commitments these Governments, and the British Government unfortunately is not the only one, made in their approval of these three or four UN resolutions in the last couple of years and the latest one on December 1.
“These Governments voted for resolution by consensus where they say that they respect the Olympic Charter, which is the political neutrality of the IOC, where they emphasise the conciliative nature of sports events, and where they support the autonomy of sport. To take a political decision on a sports competition is clearly not in line with these resolutions and these commitments, and is not in line with the mission of international sport.
“Today it’s Russia and Belarus, tomorrow it’s the next country and then the other countries coming back with counter-sanctions. We need to explore ways to overcome this dilemma with regard to athletes’ participation and come back to the sporting merits and not to political interference,” said Bach as reported by Insidethegamesbiz.
Despite ATP’s fine, Russian players still banned from Wimbledon and events in UK
While the ATP has gone on the offensive with its fine on LTA, they continue to keep the Russian Tennis Federation and the Belarusian Tennis Federation suspended. This has resulted in the two nations being absent from the Davis Cup and the upcoming United Cup.
As far as Bach’s statements go, the IOC has also not allowed Russians to play in many events. Even at the ongoing 2022 FIFA World Cup, Team Russia was disqualified from the tournament after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine which has now gone on for more than 9 months.
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