“The Cold War between the West and Russia adopts different forms,” reported the petition. “One of which is Russian athletes’ suspension. Sport should be protected from economic wars and disputes in international relations.”
“We seek to attract attention of public opinion to the approach of such persons as Philip Craven, who demonstrated his political bias and inadequate understanding regarding this issue,” announced Imola Oggi’s director.
According to Armando Marocchia, sport, music, art and culture should be free from political and economic opposition.
Italian Imola Oggi is using social networks to increase the impact of their petition.
“Of course, our key goal is to return Russian athletes to the Paralympic Games in Rio, but if we are not able to do so, we will attract the attention and international public opinion to this issue,” Marocchia told Sputnik.
“We hope that the document will affect sports arbitrage as well and it will adopt a fair decision in favor of Russian Paralympic athletes,” Imola Oggi’s director explained to Sputnik.
According to the director, the Russian athletes’ suspension is foremost a punishment for other teams – they will not have a dignified and strong opponent.
In addition, Marocchia believes that the collective responsibility of athletes is simply unfair. Each sportsman should be held accountable for his own actions, and not for actions of others.
