Lukashenka Left Without Biathlon

The International Biathlon Union has suspended the activity of the federations of Belarus and Russia.

The Executive Board of the International Biathlon Union (IBU) unanimously decided to suspend the national federations of Belarus and Russia. The decision comes into force immediately after the adoption, reports Tribuna.

"Both federations have violated the humanitarian obligations of the member federations in accordance with the IBU Constitution. These violations by SIS and BFB damage the reputation of the IBU and the sport of biathlon, and their active membership will undermine the efforts of the IBU and its members to promote their fundamental constitutional principles and objectives with credibility.

Furthermore, the Executive Board agreed that, given that the Russian invasion of Ukraine has halted the activities of the Biathlon Federation of Ukraine, it would be unfair for the national federations of the attacking countries to continue to enjoy full IBU membership rights," the international federation said in a statement.

The decision of the Executive Committee will be considered by the IBU Congress at its meeting on September 15-19, 2022, unless it is overturned by the Executive Committee itself earlier.

Earlier, the IBU suspended Russian and Belarusian athletes from competitions under the auspices of the organization.