Sweden: Olympic Committee bans political protests against anti-gay legislation at Sochi Olympics
The head of Sweden’s Olympic Committee, Stefan Lindeberg has ruled that political protests against Russia’s anti-gay legislation will not be tolerated at the Sochi Olympics next year.
Mr Lindeberg announced the committees ruling after Sweden’s Emma Green Tregaro and her team mate painted their nails the colours of the rainbow in direct defiance of Russia’s anti-gay laws while attending the World Athletics Championships last week.
Olympic regulations ban athletes from promoting any political cause and Mr Lindeberg called such protests “absolutely out of the question.”
He went onto say that athletes could hold whatever views they like but “we can’t have athletes using sporting arenas to demonstrate these perceptions.”
The rainbow nails were described as a “silent protest” against Russia’s anti-gay laws but the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has called on athletes to respect the laws of the host country.
Emma Tregaro was encouraged to change the colour of her nails because she was in breach of the Olympic rules and she could face disqualification.
The IOC has promised to ensure that no anti-gay discrimination shall take place during the Games. This is despite Russian lawmakers confirming that Russia’s anti-gay legislation shall not be suspended during the Sochi Games.
