Russia will not suspend anti-gay legislation during the 2014 Winter Olympic Games to be held in Sochi according to Russian politician Vitaly Milonov.
Milonov, the man behind the controversial ‘gay propaganda’ bill recently signed into law by President Vladimir Putin, maintains that the government cannot selectively suspend or enforce the law.
In a recent interview with Russian news agency Interfax, Milonov stated – “I haven’t heard any comments from the government of the Russian Federation, but I know that it is acting in accordance with Russian law. And if a law has been approved by the federal legislature and signed by the president, then the government has no right to suspend it. It doesn’t have the authority.”
The interview counteracts assurances made by the International Olympic Committee early this month that athletes competing in Sochi would not be affected by such laws.
The laws were introduced to target individuals responsible for spreading ‘gay propaganda’ and non-traditional values and are part of a wider wave of anti-gay sentiment recently emerging from Russia.
Foreign athletes face the risk of fines and even detention for up to 15 days followed by deportation if found guilty of breaking the new laws.
With the Sochi Games due to begin in February 2014, this raises serious questions about the safety and welfare of not only athletes, but journalists and spectators travelling to Russia.
Surely the IOC, along with the Russia, has a duty to safeguard all those involved in the games –whether competitors or spectators – and to provide an environment conducive to the principles and spirit of the Olympics.
Simply shielding foreign athletes and visitors is not a good enough response, considering the main victims of the laws will most likely be Russian citizens.
Questions must be asked of the IOC and their ability to select host nations if issues of basic human rights such as this are coming to the fore just months before the opening ceremony.
Hosting the Winter Olympics is a privilege, and will no doubt be incredibly lucrative for Russia. With this in mind will the IOC stand by when such draconian, homophobic laws fly in their face.
And with Russia set to host the Football World Cup in 2018, the same questions will certainly be asked of FIFA.
Russian football has already been blighted with repeated instances of racism, notably racist chanting and abuse directed towards footballers with African or South American heritage.
In March 2011, Zenit St Petersburg was fined after a fan offered Anzhi Makhachkala player Roberto Carlos a banana before the game.
Homophobia and racism have no place in sport, and anywhere else for that matter, so it is imperative that governing bodies such as the IOC and FIFA take action against such evils or face the stinging glare of their own hypocrisy.
After all the IOC’s own mantra is ‘sport for all – sport belongs to everyone’.
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