World Taekwondo condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “brutal attacks on innocent lives in Ukraine” on Sunday, and as a result will take back an honorary black belt given to the Russian leader in 2013, and also will no longer allow the display of Russian and Belarusian flags and the playing of their national anthems at future events.
As the international federation that governs the sport of taekwondo, World Taekwondo said Putin’s invasion of Ukraine goes against the organization’s vision and values.
“World Taekwondo strongly condemns the brutal attacks on innocent lives in Ukraine, which go against the World Taekwondo vision of ‘Peace is More Precious than Triumph’ and the World Taekwondo values of respect and tolerance. #PeaceIsMorePreciousThanTriumph” the federation tweeted:
World Taekwondo strongly condemns the brutal attacks on innocent lives in Ukraine, which go against the World Taekwondo vision of “Peace is More Precious than Triumph” and the World Taekwondo values of respect and tolerance.#PeaceIsMorePreciousThanTriumphhttps://t.co/nVTdxDdl2I
— World Taekwondo (@worldtaekwondo) February 28, 2022
“In solidarity with the International Olympic Committee, no Russian or Belarusian national flags or anthems will be displayed or played at World Taekwondo events. World Taekwondo and the European Taekwondo Union will not organise or recognise Taekwondo events in Russia and Belarus,” World Taekwondo announced in a statement on their website.
Another martial arts governing body took action against Putin this week for his attack on Ukraine. The International Judo Federation (IJF) announced their removal of Putin as honorary president of their organization Sunday, citing the “ongoing war conflict in Ukraine” as their reason, Breitbart News reported. Putin does not practice taekwondo, but has a black belt in judo, and has authored a book on the martial art. The federation also canceled a judo tournament scheduled to take place in Russia this summer.
With Putin’s suspension as IJF’s honorary president, he has lost what the AP called “his most senior official position in world sports.”
“In light of the ongoing war conflict in Ukraine, the International Judo Federation announces the suspension of Mr. Vladimir Putin’s status as Honorary President and Ambassador of the International Judo Federation,” the IJF said in a statement.
Other sports have also taken action concerning Russia’s actions in Ukraine. “The sporting world has had a similar reaction: Russia was booted out of qualifying for this year’s soccer World Cup, and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has urged federations to exclude athletes from Russia, as well as from its ally Belarus,” the Times of Israel reported.
World Taekwondo has given the honorary black belt to various world leaders in the past. “Previous honorary black belts have included US presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump, their South Korean counterpart Lee Myung-bak, and other leaders from Spain, Croatia, Pakistan, Indonesia and Honduras,” the Independent UK reported. According to the World Taekwondo website, Pope Francis also received an honorary black belt in 2017.
“World Taekwondo’s thoughts are with the people of Ukraine and we hope for a peaceful and immediate end to this war,” World Taekwondo concluded.
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