A Team GB Paralympian says members of the Russian team have been taunting members of the Ukrainian team over their homes being bombed. It comes as Russian and Belarusian athletes will be banned from the Beijing Winter Paralympics.
Paralympian Richard Whitehead was speaking on Good Morning Britain on Thursday morning, alongside Paralympic powerlifter Ali Jawad, about the U-turn by the Paralympic authorities. Gold medallist Richard, from Nottingham, said about the decision by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC): "I'm sorry we're having to talk in these terrifying times, and [that] the IPC initially should shirk their responsibility by placing the decision more towards the national governing bodies and individuals where this decision should have been made for the athletes, for the movement and as a Paralympic athlete, as disabled people."
The IPC’s initial announcement on Wednesday that athletes from those countries would be allowed to compete under a neutral flag was met by criticism and the threat of a boycott. In a further statement on Thursday morning, IPC president Andrew Parsons said: “In taking our decision yesterday, we were looking at the long-term health and survival of the Paralympic Movement. We are fiercely proud of the principles and values that have made the Movement what it is today.
“However, what is clear is that the rapidly escalating situation has now put us in a unique and impossible position so close to the start of the Games. Yesterday we said we would continue to listen, and that is what we are doing.”
Speaking on Good Morning Britain on Thursday, Richard Whitehead told presenters Susanna Reid and Ben Shephard: "I've heard lots of messages of indoctrination within the Russian community and messages that the Russian athletes are sending Ukraine athletes about bombing their homes. And I feel that to take the Russians and Belarus athletes straight out of the village and send them home is the right decision.
"I'm passionate about sport. Also, I feel that myself and athletes like Ali [Jawad] are humanitarians in our own right, and we need to promote sport in the right means and on a level playing field."
Susanna asked him to elaborate on his point about messages - and Richard told viewers: "Yes, that's right. I've seen those and they said... bombing the families back at home. It's terrible. Like, it's disgusting behavior.
"And it just shows that the Russian and Belarus athletes don't actually think there's there's a war going on at home and and how that affects not just the athletes, but also the Ukrainian community.
"We need to galvanize as athletes and promote that. Look, this war needs to stop, and sport is only just a small part of what we do."
In the statement from the IPC on Thursday morning, president Andrew Parsons said the decision affecting 83 athletes from Russia and Belarus was taken because of the threat of widespread withdrawals from other countries as well as concerns about safety.
The situation in the athletes village, Parsons said, had “become untenable”. He said: “In the last 12 hours, an overwhelming number of members have been in touch with us and been very open, for which I am grateful. They have told us that, if we do not reconsider our decision, it is now likely to have grave consequences for the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games.
“Multiple NPCs (National Paralympic Committees), some of which have been contacted by their governments, teams and athletes, are threatening not to compete. Ensuring the safety and security of athletes is of paramount importance to us and the situation in the athlete villages is escalating and has now become untenable.”
At a press conference, Parsons addressed the situation in the village, saying: “We don’t have reports of any specific incidents of aggression or anything like it but the mood in the village, athletes expressing their opinions against the decision we took yesterday, it was becoming a very volatile environment.”
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