Time For a Russian Timeout

Russia doesn't understand why the world is reacting this way.  It's like they think invading another country is a bad thing!  But, whatever their political disagreements with the Russian Federation are, they should be kept out of sports.  And, while we're at it, sports should be kept out of politics, too.

Too bad that's impossible.  And Russia knows that.  In so many parts of the world, sports and politics are intertwined.  In was in the USSR, in fact, that sports were used to boost up the propaganda machine.  And it was the USSR that was a central figure in the 1980 and 1984 Olympic boycotts.

There are plenty of other examples that don't involve Russia, too.  Germany wasn't invited to the 1920 Olympics as a punishment for being the aggressor in World War I.  They weren't invited in 1948, either, along with fellow World War II aggressors Japan and Italy.  Likewise, South Africa was blacklisted from international sport for decades because of apartheid.  And Israel, unfortunately, has to deal with it every time an athlete from an Arab nation refuses to compete against an Israeli opponent.

International sporting bodies have long made it a practice to keep countries that are hostile towards each other separated when making groups for continental tournaments.  (That's the primary reason Israel is in the European federation in every sport.)  Likewise, they require national teams to play games at neutral sites or behind closed doors because of political and/or security concerns pretty regularly.

So, no, we can't keep sports and politics separate.  Because they're impossible to separate!  Although, it would be nice if we could.  Because it's the athletes who have to deal with the guilt by association just by wearing the country's name on their jersey.

What then to do about the little problem that Putin has created?  Well, in the four days since Russia launched its attack, the Champions League final has been moved from St. Petersburg to Paris; the only Finnish team in the KHL has withdrawn from the league; Dominik Hasek has called for all Russian players in the NHL to be suspended; Arsenal's Russian owner has handed day-to-day control of the club over to the trustees; and Poland, Sweden and the Czech Republic, who are all in Russia's playoff group for the final round of UEFA World Cup qualifying, have not only refused to play in the country, they've refused to play Russia at all.  Anywhere!

FIFA and UEFA have been backed into a corner here.  They don't want to ban Russia outright and piss off Putin, but they're not being given much of a choice.  Which is a good thing.  Because their "solution," to have Russia compete as the RFU (Russian Football Union) team without their national flag, colors or anthem was as ridiculous as the IOC and WADA's non-"sanctions" against Russia.

Technically, "Russia" isn't even allowed to participate in the 2022 World Cup anyway.  Their "sanctions" don't expire until the end of the year, so Russia would have to compete as OAR or ROC or RFU or whatever other bullshit abbreviation they give them to pretend they aren't "Russia" even though everybody knows they are.  The only reason they were allowed to compete in Euro 2020 and the World Cup qualifiers under their own name is because it doesn't apply to continental tournaments, just global ones.

After yet another doping scandal involving Russia, this time the Kamila Valiyeva situation, Dick Pound, a longtime IOC Vice President and former WADA president, suggested that "maybe it was time for Russia to take a timeout" from international sport because that would be the only way to get the point across.  He was talking about how even though they're technically "suspended," they continue doping anyway and don't care because they know the IOC and WADA will let them get away with it.  But, if you add in the political reasons (and, don't forget, it was a state-sponsored doping program), the argument for giving Russia a "timeout" becomes that much stronger.

When the IOC released its statement regarding the Russia-Ukraine situation, I was confused.  In it, they "encouraged" organizations to pull events out of Russia and stop using the Russian flag and anthem.  But weren't they supposed to be doing that already since it was part of Russia's "ban" that's currently being served?  That "ban" also applied to political leaders appearing at the Olympics.  Why was Putin at the Opening Ceremony in Beijing then?

In a strange way, we probably have Chinese President Xi Jinping to thank for this war not starting sooner.  He didn't want his Olympics upstaged, so he asked Putin to wait.  Which he did.  The Olympics ended on February 20 and Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.  Wasn't that so considerate of him?

This is actually the third time an Olympics was overshadowed by Putin's active or planned military action.  In 2008 (an Olympics that was also hosted by Beijing), Russia invaded Georgia a week before the start of the Games.  In 2014, Putin was acting like a good host while everyone was IN RUSSIA for the Sochi Games (while the host country was cheating its way to the top of the medals table), but he also wanted to make sure he annexed Crimea before they all left.

The Olympic Truce is a tradition dating back to Ancient Greece that calls for all hostilities to stop so that athletes and spectators can travel to and from the Games safely.  The modern-day Olympic Truce lasts approximately two months, from one week before the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics to one week after the Closing Ceremony of the Paralympics (there's generally a two-week gap between the events).  This is the third time Putin has broken it!  What has the IOC done about it?  Not a damn thing!

Will anything be done here?  Again, probably not.  That's the delicate balance WADA, the IOC and all the international federations have to deal with.  They want to take a stand, but they don't want to negatively impact the athletes.  Or their own bank accounts.  Which losing Russian sponsorship dollars would.  As a result, they issue "sanctions" that aren't really sanctions and looked at as a joke by both sides. 

Is it any wonder then that Russia continues to do whatever it wants?  They know there aren't going to be any actual consequences!  Which is why maybe it's time for there to be some.

Giving Russia an actual temporary ban from international sports would be the nuclear option.  But sometimes the nuclear option is what's required.  And, frankly, this situation is one of them.  Because it's the only thing that might work.  Everything else that's been tried so far has failed.  And Ukraine is currently paying for it.