A United Nations commission of inquiry found last week that Israel is committing genocide, a legal term for genocide, in the Gaza Strip. For that reason, UN experts called on sports federations to ban Israel from tournaments and matches, as is now happening with Russia and Belarus.
European soccer federation UEFA is said to be holding a vote among national federations next week on the participation of Israeli teams in European competitions, according to British newspaper The Times. The UCI is not going to take that step, Lappartient stressed.
This weekend, therefore, Israel is “just” competing in the World Cycling Championships in Rwanda. “It is perfectly normal for them to be here, because we believe that sport is not a means of punishment,” Lappartient told reporters.
“Peace does not come through exclusion. So yes, Israeli athletes are welcome, just as Palestinian athletes are welcome when we host them at our games, just like all athletes from all over the world. That is really the strength of the Olympic movement.”
Russian and Belarusian teams, on the other hand, are not welcome, leading Lappartient to be accused of applying a double standard. According to the UCI president, who is also a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the situations are not comparable.
“The Russian Olympic Committee was suspended because it included the four oblasts (provinces, ed.) belonging to Ukraine in its statutes AND because Russia attacked Ukraine during the Olympic truce, which was unanimously approved by the UN.”
“We believe that no athlete should be deprived of the opportunity to compete,” Lappartient continued. “Look at the Paris Olympics. All countries were present. Russian athletes competed under a neutral flag, but were there.”
Lappartient also refused to change his stance on Israeli teams after the Vuelta a España. The Tour of Spain was recently disrupted several times by pro-Palestinian protesters, who demonstrated against the presence of cycling team Israel-Premier Tech.
“I know the Spanish government wanted me to withdraw the team from the Vuelta, but on what legal basis? If we start by excluding one team, another will follow next year, for a different reason.”
