Russian gymnast who displayed 'Z' symbol on podium banned for a year

One of Russia’s most senior sports administrators has accused the world gymnastics governing body of succumbing to “lawlessness” after Ivan Kuliak was banned for a year and stripped of his World Cup bronze medal.

Kuliak wore the letter ‘Z’ on his outfit both during the competition and in the medal ceremony for the parallel bars alongside the Ukrainian athlete Ilia Kovtun.

The letter ‘Z’ has been perceived as a signal in support of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and, according to the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG), represented a breach of their code of ethics and code of conduct. Kuliak, who is 20, was also ordered to return the medal and pay back his prize money of just over £400. An FIG statement described Kuliak’s action as “shocking” and ruled that he cannot compete in an officially sanctioned event for the next year.

The sanction was announced on Tuesday and has been met with outrage in Moscow. “It is surprising to me that several letters of the Latin alphabet were included in the list of banned by the international federation and the organizers of the tournament in Doha,” said Dmitry Svishchev, the chairman of the Russian State Duma Sports Committee.

He added: “When I looked at the regulations, I did not see that they were included in the list of prohibited signs, which is why a person can fall under sanctions.

“I personally do not see any offensive, discriminatory, nationalistic signs in Kuliak's act, just as the entire normal civilised world does not see it. But, unfortunately, the federation cannot cope with the pressure of politicians, big business tycoons, regulating the law or lawlessness in sports.”

Russian forces have used the letter ‘Z’ as an identifying symbol on their vehicles in Ukraine and some supporters of the invasion have also used the sign.

Russian and Belarusian gymnasts have been excluded from FIG events since March and Kuliak, who also attended a “pro-victory” rally, has 21 days in which to potentially appeal against the ban.

“If the protective measures keeping Russian athletes from competing are still in place on May 17 2023, the ban shall continue and expire six months after the removal of said measure,” the FIG added.

Valentina Rodionenko, who was the head of the Russian gymnastics delegation at the World Cup, said that the sanction would not prevent Kuliak from training. “Everything is fine with him, he trains, this year will pass normally, no one will notice,” she said.

The Artistic Gymnastics Federation of Russia are currently deciding whether to appeal.

Kuliak has said he had no regrets about the display and that he would always stand for peace. “I saw it with our military and looked at what this symbol means - it turned out (it means), 'for victory' and 'for peace',” he said. “I didn't wish anything bad on anyone, I just showed my position.”