The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Friday ruled against Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych, who had appealed against his disqualification from the Winter Olympics.
CAS was Heraskevych’s final chance to be reinstated after he was barred from competing for his refusal not to wear a helmet honoring 24 Ukrainian athletes and children killed by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
According to AFP, CAS Secretary-General Matthieu Reeb told reporters waiting outside the appeal hearing “that freedom of expression is guaranteed at the Olympic Games, but not on the field of play, which is a sacred principle.”
The Olympic Charter includes an explicit commitment to peacebuilding through sport. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) argues that, in order to meet this commitment, the competition – and competitors – must remain apolitical.
Reeb said that Annett Rombach, the German arbitrator who ruled against Heraskevych, was, “fully sympathetic” to his aims despite having no choice but to find that his helmet did violate the IOC’s Athlete Expression Guidelines.
However, Heraskevych stands by his actions – late Friday evening, he called his disqualification a “purely discriminatory decision” by the IOC.
President Volodymyr Zelensky, too, criticized the ruling. Writing on X, he said that “no rule has been broken.”
“Sport shouldn’t mean amnesia, and the Olympic movement should help stop wars, not play into the hands of aggressors,” he continued, adding that 660 Ukrainian athletes and coaches have been killed by Russia since the full-scale invasion began.
“We are proud of Vladyslav and of what he did. Having courage is worth more than any medal,” Zelensky said.
The president also hit out at the inclusion of 19 Russian athletes in the games under a “neutral” banner.
“They compete under ‘neutral’ flags at the Games, while in real life publicly supporting Russian aggression against Ukraine and the occupation of our territories. And they are the ones who deserve disqualification,” he said.
However, the ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes participating has itself been challenged in recent weeks. Both FIFA head Gianni Infantino and International Ice Hockey Federation chief Luc Tardif have called for their inclusion since the beginning of February.