Vladimir Putin Removed From All Positions On Judo’s Governing Body

Russian President; Vladimir Putin and a Russian businessman have been removed from all positions in the International Judo Federation (IJF), the sport’s governing body said, in the latest sporting rebuke following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The decision, announced in a brief statement, comes after Putin, a black belt who has co-authored the book titled “Judo: History, Theory, Practice”, was suspended as IJF honorary president last week.

“The International Judo Federation announces that Mr. Vladimir Putin and Mr. Arkady Rotenberg have been removed from all positions held in the International Judo Federation,” it said.

Billionaire businessman; Arkady Rotenberg had been on the IJF Executive Committee as a development manager since 2013.

The federation did not mention Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but it said on Feb. 27 it was suspending Putin as honorary IJF president “in light of the ongoing war conflict in Ukraine”.

Belarus has been a key staging area for Russia’s invasion of its neighbour. The IJF also canceled a May 20-22 Grand Slam event in Kazan, Russia.

Putin was also stripped of his honorary taekwondo black belt conferred in 2013 by World Taekwondo and a FINA Order, awarded to him in 2014 by swimming’s global body.

Since the beginning of what Putin has called “a special military operation” in Ukraine, Russian and Belarusian teams and athletes have found themselves frozen out from most international competitions across sports.

Ukrainian and Russian negotiators were scheduled to meet in Belarus for their third round of talks on Monday, with progress uncertain after weekend agreements to allow civilians to flee the fighting collapsed.

Continuing their encirclement operations on Ukrainian cities, Russian forces prevented civilians from escaping via humanitarian corridors and shelled urban centers in the country’s north and south. Ukrainian forces continued to frustrate Russia with counterattack and sabotage operations.