Ukrainian Winter Olympic luger Olena Smaha may have risked being punished by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) by branding a message on her hand at the Milan-Cortina Games.
Smaha, 26, finished 20th during Tuesday’s (February 10) women’s luge event before showing the palm of her hand, which had the words “remembrance is not a violation” emblazoned on it.
The 26-year-old was referring to the IOC’s ban of Ukrainian athletes wearing “the helmet of memory”, which commemorated those who have passed away during the Ukraine-Russia conflict – including weightlifter Alina Peregudova, strongman Pavlo Ishchekno and ice hockey athlete Oleksiy Loginov.
However, yesterday, skeleton star Vladyslav Heraskevych defied the IOC ban and wore the helmet anyway.
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The Ukrainian team have also appealed the ban and say that it is not a breach of Article 50 of the Olympic Charter.
Rule 50 states that “No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas".
However, the exact criteria remains unclear, but the IOC has allowed athletes to wear black armbands.
Last week, SPORTbible reached out to the IOC for further information about freedom of expression and the rules on protests at the Games, to which the organisation replied: “During the Olympic Games, all participants have the opportunity to express their views as per the Athlete Expression Guidelines.
“In order to strike a balance between the right to freedom of expression while preserving the political neutrality of the Olympic Games as well as the Fundamental Principles of Olympism, these Guidelines provide a framework for competitors, team officials or other team personnel participating in the Olympic Games regarding opportunities available to them to express their views during the Games.”
According to the Athlete Expression Guidelines, competitors do hold the right to express their views during press conferences, on social media and through traditional media.
Athletes, however, are not permitted to express their views during official ceremonies, during competition or in the Olympic Village.
Meanwhile, athletes also have the opportunity to express their views during team meetings or on the field of play before the start of the competitions.
The IOC also states that if a participant fails to respect Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter, then “each incident will be evaluated by their respective National Olympic Committee, International Federation and the IOC, and disciplinary action will be taken on a case-by-case basis as necessary”.
The organisation also made clear that “expressing views” is “different from protests and demonstrations”.
Luke Davies