20 February 2014, 11:30
Ukrainian alpine skier refuses to perform at Olympic Games in Sochi in protest against events in Kiev
The Ukrainian alpine skier Bogdana Matsetskaya and her coach Oleg Matsetsky have refused to perform at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, protesting against the bloodshed during the violent dispersal of protests in Kiev, Ukrainian media report.
Let us remind you that Ukrainian athletes planned to start competitions with black bands on their arms to commemorate the casualties of Kiev protests. However, on February 19, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) forbade it, citing the provisions of the Olympic Charter.
Bogdana Matsetskaya wrote on her page in the Facebook that, when they departed to the Olympics in Sochi, athletes hoped that the political and social crisis in Ukraine will be resolved through peaceful negotiations of the authorities with the protesters. But, as the female athlete has stressed, President Yanukovych "sank the Ukrainians' latest expectations in blood," says the Ukrainian sports news portal "tribuna.com".
She also noted that with their violent cleansing of the protest the Ukrainian authorities had broken one of the main principles of the Olympics – "truce during the Games." Bogdana Matsetskaya expressed solidarity with "fighters on Maidan barricades," the "MIGnews" Agency quoted the athlete.
