(Motorsport-Total.com) – The fact that the FIA has lifted the restrictions against Russian athletes, allowing them to compete again under their own flag, is not well received by the Automobile Federation of Ukraine (FAU) at all.
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The federation has filed a formal complaint with the FIA Ethics Council and has also demanded an urgent investigation of the Russian federation RAF, which in its opinion violates the FIA statutes and the International Sporting Code.
The accusation from Ukraine: The Russian federation would open and operate offices in Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine – specifically in Crimea, in the city of Sevastopol, as well as in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.
These are recognized by the United Nations as sovereign Ukrainian territory. However, according to FIA statutes, only one automobile federation per country is allowed, so this would not be permissible.
“This is a clear violation of the Russian Automobile Federation against the FIA statutes, to which it is bound as an FIA member organization,” says FAU President Oleksandr Feldman. “We urgently call on the FIA President to take immediate action to have these offices closed and to sanction the Russian Automobile Federation for its actions.”
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The statement also points out that the head of the RAF, Boris Rotenberg, “is directly subject to international sanctions imposed by the USA, Great Britain, the EU, and other allied jurisdictions in response to the aggression against Ukraine.”
At the beginning of August, the FIA lifted the ban imposed in 2022 on Russian and Belarusian athletes. They are now allowed to participate again unrestricted under their own flag in competitions and to wear national symbols. The playing of the anthem was also permitted again. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) had taken a similar step.
Only competitions on Russian and Belarusian soil remain currently prohibited.
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