Ivan Kuliak’s suspension upheld, but amendment was made by GEF Appeal Tribunal

In May, Russian gymnast Ivan Kuliak was banned from the sport by The International Federation of Gymnastics for one year after wearing a pro-Russian ‘Z’ symbol next to his fellow Ukrainian competitor Illia Kovtun.

Kuliak had taped the pro-Russian symbol to his uniform in a show of support for Russian special forces and claimed it was in support of peace between the two nations rather than a support for the invasion of Ukraine. In punishment, the GEF Disciplinary Commission stated that Kuliak’s behavior was shocking before handing him a one year suspension for his behavior.

Because Kuliak stands by his claim that the “Z” symbol was worn for peace, he filed an appeal to have his suspension lifted. On Wednesday the decision of the appeal was handed down. Kuliak’s suspension has been partially upheld, but will run concurrently with the Russian and Belarusian athletes being banned by International Gymnastics Federation (FIG).

Despite the criticism received and the suspension handed down, Kuliak shared that he would do the same thing again if given the chance.

A Gymnastics Ethics Foundation (GEF) Appeal Tribunal was put together and came to the conclusion that Kuliak’s punishment should be independent from the FIG’s ban on Russian athletes.

The ban was handed down on May 17, 2022 which means that his suspension should have ended May 16, 2023, however, if Russian athletes were still banned from competition, his suspension could be extended six months if the FIG is still not allowing Russian athletes to compete in international competition.

The Appeal Tribunal has now given Kuliak the green light to have his suspension end on May 16th regardless of whether or not the FIG is still disallowing Russian athletes to compete in FIG-sanctioned events. While he still needs to sit out for another eight months, at least Kuliak can begin training for whatever his first event back will be upon his return.