HULA REPORT: Russian attack dooms prospects for SportAccord

The attack against Ukraine by Russia has nothing to do with sport, but sport is already one of the first victims of the Russian assault.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board met Friday to advise all sports federations to withdraw any plans for events in either Russia or Belarus, Russia’s sole military ally in the campaign against Ukraine.

In an unprecedented statement, the IOC Thursday accused Russia of breaking the Olympic Truce. In 100+ years, the IOC has never so publicly criticized the actions of one of its key member nations.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC), staging the first major international event since the Russian attack, has joined the IOC in condemning the breach of the Olympic Truce. With the Winter Paralympics starting next week in Beijing, the Ukraine team is said to now face great difficulties travelling to China. So far there are no other known consequences yet for the Winter Paras.

SportAccord, trying for a third year to host the international sports convention in Ekatarinburg in central Russia has confirmed their cancellation of the event, as the IOC is warning federations not to meet in Russia.

UEFA was the first to duck a wartime Russia when the Executive Committee met Friday to strip St. Petersburg of hosting the Champions League final in May.

FIS has cancelled five World Cup ski events set for March in Russia.

The overall perspective shows gloomy conditions that can only dull any appetite for travel to Russia.

Some countries, like the United States are warning citizens not to travel there. Securing visas from Russian consulates may become another factor. Deteriorating conditions in Ukraine could conceivably lead to the halt of civil aviation to or from Russia. Whether it’s SportAccord or UEFA Champions League football, Russian destinations may soon become impossible to reach.

The separation of sport from politics will be tested in France with the International Skating Union (ISU) Figure Skating World Championships in March.

Loaded with talent, the Russians would be favorites for the podium in each of the five events. Will they come? Or more pointedly, will they be allowed to compete? Will Russian athletes become pariahs, innocents suffering the world’s wrath against Vladimir Putin?

Finland, fresh off an historic gold medal in Beijing, hosts the 2022 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Ice Hockey World Championships; Russia and Belarus are among the 16 teams in the May tournament. Measured in those terms, 10 teams are from NATO member states, a dominance that might make the Russians nervous in Helsinki.

A U.S.-Russia showdown is possible for the final match, which could be an incredible moment in ice hockey history. That is if Russia or the U.S. still come. Finland, once occupied by neighboring Russia, may have some new concerns for security as a result of the Russian war.

The biggest Olympic sport event scheduled for Russia this year may be the Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) Volleyball World Championships set for 11 Russian cities in August.

Next year comes the International University Sports Federation (FISU) Summer University Games. It is fatefully scheduled for Ekaterinburg, and its president just happens to be Oleg Matytsin, who is also Russia’s Sports Minister. While affirming the event will take place as planned, organizers may find banking restrictions and other sanctions levied against Russia make it impractical for 5,000+ athletes to travel there 16 months from now.

Vladimir Lisin, the Russian president of the International Sport Shooting Federation, now faces long odds to keep the world championships on the calendar next year at the complex he owns near Moscow.

Alisher Usmanov, president of the International Fencing Federation, is among those oligarchs considered likely to be targets of sanctions from the U.S. and Great Britain. Usmanov is said to be worth upwards of $18 billion, but the new sanctions being levied may put in check his ability to spend.

With the Paris Olympics scheduled in two years, the IOC must certainly feel nervous about the outbreak of the largest ground war in Europe since WWII.

A protracted campaign in Ukraine or one that expands beyond the present battlelines could spell trouble for 2024. With much hope pinned on Paris as a post-pandemic host, the Olympic Truce suddenly has become a real call for action.

While he disavows a link between sport and politics, IOC president Thomas Bach will find that separation difficult to maintain as long as Russia commits acts of war against a sovereign nation.

Bach knows Putin well. The two spoke earlier this month at the Beijing Olympics. He may be able to exploit that relationship to help negotiate some calm in the Kremlin -- unless the tough talk from the IOC burned that bridge.

Some of the 200+ National Olympic Committees will face pressure from their own governments to avoid anything to do with Russia and sport if the Ukraine war lingers.

May 19 is the date for the next IOC Session – the one-day affair has a new item on the agenda. The danger for the IOC is whether anger against Russia will be the wedge that splits the Olympic world.