According to the entity, organizers of the universal fair carried out an independent evaluation of the risks and agreed to exclude swimmers from both countries from the fair due to Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine.

In addition, the Russian Swimming Federation received notification of the separation of all its members from competitions for the rest of this year.

Other sports such as football, athletics, ice hockey, rugby, badminton, handball, cycling also took action against competitors from Russia and Belarus.

At the beginning of March, the International Swimming Federation (FINA) opted for a formula that would allow Russians and Belarussians to compete, but with a neutral flag, such as tennis, boxing or judo.

That position was hardly sustainable in the face of the Budapest World Cup in the face of the rejection of other delegations and the threats of boycotting the fair.

FINA also withdrew from Russia the competitions that it was supposed to host, among them the Short Course World Cup, scheduled for the city of Kazan from December 17 to 22, and now it is looking for a new venue for the event and the opening of a disciplinary file against Russian swimmer Evgeny Rylov, current Olympic champion in the 100 and 200 meter backstroke.

According to the entity, Rylov had an alleged participation in a rally favorable to his country at the Luzhniki stadium in Moscow.

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