Oleg Verniaiev released a video in which he talks about his life during the war and calls for a lifetime ban of the Russian athletes that support the war.
Verniaiev was born and raised in Donetsk, a Ukrainian city that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. Some of his family members still live there. Before February 2022, he was friends with Russian athletes, particularly with Nikita Nagorny who was his teammate in the TG Saar Club in Bundesliga*. He received a lot of criticism and even threats for that. However after the full-scale invasion started in February, Verniaiev said he was wrong to have relationships with Russian athletes and now regrets it.
In the video, Verniaiev says:
“The last time I’ve seen my native Donetsk was back in 2012. Soon after that, the war will have deprived me of being able to go home for almost 9 years. When the full-scale invasion started, training became less of a priority. From the very first days, I started volunteering, same as some of my colleagues, Ukrainian gymnasts. About three thousands athletes and coaches are defending our country’s Independence right now. Over a hundred already will never come home. All the Russian and Belarusian athletes who support the full-scale invasion and Kremlin’s rhetoric should be disqualified for life. “Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together” is the new motto of the International Olympic Committee. But Russians and Belarusians do not adhere to that. It’s obvious we are not together.”
The FIG President Morinari Watanabe claimed that the FIG would take actions against individual athletes or coaches that expressed support of the war:
“If gymnasts or officials make statements or actions in support of this way, the FIG will impose strict punishments against them. We will punish them as severely as the Gymnastics Ethics Federation does. I believe that punishment should be individual, not for the entire organisation.”
However, so far, only Ivan Kuliak how expressed support for the war at an FIG competition has been punished. Multiple Russian gymnasts expressed support for the war or even took actions to help the war, for example, by raising money for Russian soldiers. The worst offender is Nikita Nagorny who heads the Young Army – a nationwide militarized youth organization. The organization is actively promoting the war and organizing various events to support the army. Additionally, the organization has been leading the efforts to reeducate Ukrainian children from invaded territories. However, the FIG has remained silent on the actions of Nagorny or other Russian gymnasts in support of the war.
Oleg Verniaiev is currently serving a four-year disqualification because he tested positive for meldonium in 2020. He is appealing the decision and hopes to make the ban shorter. He has resumed training in the last few months. Despite the disqualification, Verniaiev remains an extremely popular and influential figure in Ukrainian sports.
*Nagorny was initially supposed to compete in the 2022 season of Bundesliga for TG Saar. In April, the club ended their contract with Nagorny over his involvement in the Young Army and open support of the war.
