MILAN, Italy — The Court of Arbitration for Sport dismissed on Friday an appeal by Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych to be reinstated in the Milan Cortina Olympics after he was disqualified over his “helmet of remembrance”.
The 27-year-old was removed from the Olympic program on Thursday when the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation jury ruled that imagery on the helmet — depicting athletes killed since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 — breached rules on political neutrality.
“The CAS ad Hoc division dismissed the application and found that freedom of expression is guaranteed at the Olympic Games but not on the field of play which is a sacred principle,” CAS secretary general Matthieu Reeb said, reading from a statement following an eight-hour hearing.
Heraskevych was seeking reinstatement or at least a run supervised by sport’s highest court ahead of the final two runs in his competition on Friday evening.
“CAS has failed us. We will consider our next steps,” he told Reuters.
The case has dominated headlines at the Olympics, with International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry meeting Heraskevych on Thursday morning at the sliding venue in a failed last-minute attempt to broker a compromise.
The IOC suggested he wear a black armband and display the helmet before and after the race, but said using it in competition breached rules on keeping politics off fields of play.
Athletes can raise issues of interest or concern to them at team meetings, with journalists and on social media. But they cannot do it during competition or medal ceremonies to keep those places free from distraction.
OLYMPIC GUIDELINES UPHELD
Before the start of the CAS hearing, Heraskevych told reporters he was getting threats from Russians – which he did not specify further – and blamed the IOC’s decision for that.
“I believe that these Games now and this act of the IOC also serves as an instrument of propaganda for Russia,” Heraskevych said. “I still receive a lot of threats from the Russian side.”
CAS said the IOC guidelines were fair.
“The Sole Arbitrator found these limitations reasonable and proportionate, considering the other opportunities for athletes to raise awareness,” CAS said.
“The Sole Arbitrator considers these Guidelines provide a reasonable balance between athletes’ interests to express their views, and athletes’ interests to receive undivided attention for their sporting performance on the field of play.”
Ukraine’s Olympic Committee has backed Heraskevych, who is also the team’s flagbearer for the Games.
He displayed a “No War in Ukraine” sign at the Beijing 2022 Olympics, days before Russia’s invasion. He has received support from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Athletes from Russia and its ally Belarus are banned from these Games as they were from the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, but some have been allowed to compete in Milan as neutrals.
Russian and Belarusian officials have repeatedly condemned restrictions on their athletes as discriminatory and politically motivated, arguing that sport should remain separate from international conflicts.
CAS was established in 1984 by the IOC as an independent judicial authority to settle sports disputes worldwide.
There has been no comment from Moscow on the helmet saga.
–Reuters, special to Field Level Media
