THE world cycling governing body will continue to welcome Israeli athletes at its competitions despite calls for sporting boycotts.
UCI president David Lappartient declared that sport should unite rather than punish during a press conference on the sidelines of the World Championships.
Lappartient, who was re-elected the body’s president for a third four-year term at the UCI Congress on Thursday, addressed the issue following a recent United Nations report.
A United Nations Commission of Inquiry said in a report that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza, an accusation that Israel has dismissed.
The report called for Israel’s suspension from international football, but Lappartient said the UCI would not go down that path.
“It is perfectly normal for them to be here, because we believe and I am speaking on behalf of the UCI but I could almost say that these are also Olympic values that sport is not a tool for punishment,“ he told reporters.
Lappartient, who is also a member of the International Olympic Committee, added that the IOC has confirmed the UCI’s position.
“We are not a tool for sanctions, we are a tool in the service of an ideal of bringing people together with the unifying power of sport, with the aim of promoting peace,“ he said.
The UCI president stated that peace does not come through exclusion, emphasising that Israeli athletes are welcome just as Palestinian athletes are welcome.
He dismissed questions about double standards despite the UCI’s ban on Russian and Belarusian teams from events over Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“Look at the Olympic Games in Paris: all countries were present, and although Russian athletes competed under a neutral flag, they were still there,“ he added.
Lappartient explained that the Russian Olympic Committee is suspended because it incorporated Ukrainian territories into its statutes and attacked Ukraine during the Olympic truce.
The UCI chief stood firm despite recent disruptions, including pro-Palestinian protesters blocking the Vuelta a Espana finish in Madrid.
Protesters attempted to stop the Israel-Premier Tech team from racing during the event in Spain.
Even Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s call for Israeli sporting bans failed to sway the UCI president.
“I know that the Spanish government wanted me to withdraw the team from the Vuelta, but on what legal basis?” he said.
Lappartient warned that if they start by excluding one team, next year it will be another team on another issue.
The Israel-Premier Tech team is reviewing its branding for next year as sponsors pressured for a name change. – Reuters
