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Ivan Kulyak at the Russian Gymnastics Championships in April
Photo: Yegor Aleyev / IMAGO / ITAR-TASS
Russian gymnast Ivan Kulyak has been banned for at least a year for his provocation with the "Z" symbol at the World Cup in Doha.
As the world association FIG announced on Tuesday evening, the responsible ethics committee has imposed further sanctions on the 20-year-old.
Kuljak was subsequently disqualified from the World Cup and has to return the bronze medal and the prize money (500 Swiss francs).
Kuljak has to contribute 2,000 Swiss francs (around 1,900 euros) to the legal costs.
The sanctions apply for one year from May 17, 2022.
If the ban on Russian gymnasts ordered by the FIG is still in force on May 17, 2023, Kuljak will also remain suspended from all FIG events.
The Russian has 21 days to appeal this decision to the responsible panel of the Ethics Committee.
Kuljak caused a scandal in Doha at the beginning of March when he wore a "Z" on his shirt instead of the coat of arms at the award ceremony after the decision on parallel bars as a sign of support for Russia's war in Ukraine.
Next to him on the winner's podium was the winner Ilya Kovtun from Ukraine.
The letter Z is used by supporters of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and stands for "za pobedu", "For Victory".
Since March, according to a new executive decision, athletes from Russia and Belarus are no longer allowed to take part in events under the sovereignty of the FIG until further notice.
The same applies to officials and referees.
For the World Cup in Doha, the FIG decision of February 26 still applied, according to which only the flags of both countries were not shown and their anthems were not allowed to be played because of the Belarus-supported Russian invasion of Ukraine.
sak/sid/dpa
