Double Olympic champion, the Russian wrestler Abdulrashid Sodulaev excluded from qualifying for his support for war

Support for the war waged by Russia in Ukraine, the wrestler Abdulrarashid Sadulaev was disqualified from the European Baku qualification tournament on Thursday.

Russian Abdulrashid Sadulaev, a double Olympic free wrestling champion, was excluded from the European qualification tournament for the Paris Games because of his support for the war in Ukraine, the International Federation of struggle announced on Thursday, April 4.

“Abdulrashid Sadulaev was excluded from the European Olympic Qualification Tournament in Baku after having failed to meet the eligibility criteria set by the International Olympic Committee (CIO) for individual neutral athletes“, Writes the Federation on its website.

Olympic champion in 2016 in the 86 kg, then again crowned in 2021 in 97 kg, Sadulaev was declared ineligible by the independent panel “United World Wrestling Eligibility”. An investigation by this panel uncovered “new information” relatives au “support“From the wrestler to the war waged by Russia against Ukraine. It was also established that the five -time world champion was still an official member of the Dynamo Moscow, the Russian power club.

Like almost all international sports bodies, the UWW has followed the IOC recommendation to reintegrate, under conditions, the Russian and Belarusian athletes in international competitions, after having banned them in late February 2022 in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The body has imposed strict conditions: only athletes will be concerned who do not actively support the war in Ukraine and are not under contract with the army or with national security agencies.

“Each individual neutral athlete is subject to a rigorous verification process by the UWW before each tournament“, Specifies the federation in a press release, the requiring IOC”In -depth checks of history and social media from people from Russia and Belarus“. The TQO, which grants two tickets for the Paris Olympics in each category, takes place from April 5 to 7 in Baku.