(Reuters) -The world cycling governing body (UCI) will continue to welcome Israeli athletes at its competitions despite calls for sporting boycotts, UCI president David Lappartient declared on Friday, saying sport should unite rather than punish.
Lappartient, who was re-elected the body’s president for a third four-year term at the UCI Congress on Thursday, was speaking on the sidelines of the World Championships in Kigali, Rwanda.
Earlier this week, a U.N. Commission of Inquiry said in a report that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza – an accusation that Israel has dismissed – and called for Israel’s suspension from international football, but Lappartient said the UCI would not go down that path.
“It is perfectly normal for them to be here, because we believe — and I am speaking on behalf of the UCI but I could almost say that these are also Olympic values — that sport is not a tool for punishment,” he told reporters.
‘NOT A TOOL FOR SANCTIONS’
Lappartient, who is also a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), added: “The IOC has confirmed our position.
“We are not a tool for sanctions, we are a tool in the service of an ideal of bringing people together with the unifying power of sport, with the aim of promoting peace. And peace does not come through exclusion.
“So yes, Israeli athletes are welcome, just as Palestinian athletes are welcome when we host them at our competitions, just like all athletes from around the world. That is truly the power of the Olympic movement.”
Lappartient dismissed questions about double standards despite the UCI’s ban on Russian and Belarusian teams from events over Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“Look at the Olympic Games in Paris: all countries were present, and although Russian athletes competed under a neutral flag, they were still there,” he added.
“We believe that no athlete should be deprived of the opportunity to participate in a competition.
“The Russian Olympic Committee is suspended because it has incorporated the four oblasts that belong to Ukraine into its statutes and because Russia attacked Ukraine during the Olympic truce that was unanimously voted for by the United Nations.”
ISRAEL PREMIER TECH TO CONTINUE COMPETING
The UCI chief stood firm despite recent disruptions, including pro-Palestinian protesters blocking the Vuelta a Espana finish in Madrid amid attempts to stop the Israel-Premier Tech team from racing.
Even Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s call for Israeli sporting bans failed to sway him.
“I know that the Spanish government wanted me to withdraw (the team from the Vuelta), but on what legal basis?” he said.
“If we start by excluding one team, next year it will be another, on another issue.”
The Israel-Premier Tech team, however, is reviewing its branding for next year as sponsors pressured for a name change.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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