“These guys did nothing wrong”- Ali Abdelaziz subtly blames ‘dirty politics’ for Russian fighters not getting enough opportunities
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Ali Abdelaziz and Vladmir Putin
Ali Abdelaziz raises objections regarding Russian athletes being punished, as a result of the Eastern European region’s political conflict. The call made obtaining visas for Russian and Belarussian athletes extremely difficult, following Vladimir Putin’s decision to launch an invasion of Ukraine.
Due to Vladimir’s aggressiveness, The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has urged governing bodies of all sports worldwide to prohibit Russian athletes from competing in any organized international competitions. This makes obtaining visas for Russians virtually impossible.
Ali Abdelaziz, a manager to several prominent fighters including several of Russian origins, believes that the circumstances are completely unfair to the athletes who have worked hard to reach the stature they are today.
Ali Abdelaziz, manager of several prominent Russian UFC fighters, believes the situation is completely unfair to the athletes. He tweets: “This whole political thing affecting a lot of Russian athletes, especially guys from Dagestan, Chechnya and the Caucuses, and nobody talking about it. It’s sad because these guys did nothing wrong. It’s extremely hard to get Visas for these guys.”
Ali even points out how Russian athletes who have the potential to be the next Khabib Nurmagomedov or Islam Makhachev, are denied the platform to showcase their talents considering the current scenario. He follows up his previous tweet by saying :
“And I know many Khabib, many Islam and many Zabit will come from this region, and I know if you still giving opportunities for these guys, I respect you very much and you know yourself and if you don’t I completely understand too.”
Is Ali Abdelaziz making a mountain out of a molehill?
The question thus arises, whether Ali’s comments have any merits? As a matter of fact, there have been no reported cases of Russian fighters being barred from competing in the UFC. However, there was one instance, when Alexander Volkov had difficulty entering the UK for his UFC London fight. However, he was still able to proceed as planned.
The IOC also stated that the ban on Russian athletes is not a form of punishment, but rather for their own protection, as the safety of Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials could not be guaranteed due to the deep anti-Russian and anti-Belarusian feelings in so many countries in the aftermath of the invasion. This was even stated by the organization’s president, Thomas Bach, who tells:
“Let me emphasize again that these are protective measures, not sanctions. Measures to protect the integrity of competitions,” Bach said in an online meeting with IOC members. “The safety of the Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials could not be guaranteed because of the deep anti-Russian and anti-Belarusian feelings in so many countries following the invasion.”
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Angelin Dsouza
(235 Articles Published)