Fetisov admitted that Bach does not exist for him

MOSCOW, November 14, Andrey Mikhailov. Two-time Olympic champion in hockey, State Duma deputy Vyacheslav Fetisov said that for him the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, no longer exists.
In March, the IOC Executive Committee recommended that Russian and Belarusian athletes be allowed to participate in international competitions in a neutral status if they are not associated with the military structures of the countries and did not speak out in support of the SVO in Ukraine. At the same time, the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) did not receive an official invitation to the 2024 Games in Paris, and in the fall the IOC suspended the ROC due to the inclusion of the Olympic councils of the DPR, LPR, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions in its composition.
«»Bach does not exist for me. I know him well, we talked, did a lot of things, including promoting our application for the Sochi Olympics. Damn, you are an athlete! Olympic champion! Why are you telling us fairy tales?! For a while later, in a turbulent time, when Olympism could retain the hope that it would be possible to get into the village only on the basis of sports — without any teams of refugees and changes in age-old traditions. Is someone tugging at you for one place?!» — Fetisov told reporters.
«This is terrible! This is the same (IIHF head Luc) Tardif, but at a higher level. I think what (former IOC head Juan Antonio) Samaranch would have done in this situation — a man with principles who understands the importance of sport. Now I don’t know , what should Bach do. One conflict, the second, the fifth, the tenth. What will you tell everyone? Why should our athletes suffer? What are they to blame for? People who dreamed of becoming part of your system, which was entrusted to you. What will he tell the athletes, who won’t be able to get to the Olympics not because they are the worst, but because Olympic champion Thomas Bach forbids them? I think it’s pointless to talk to him,” Fetisov added.

On Monday, Bach, in an address to international sports federations, condemned the holding of alternative international competitions.
“Who is he? What does he have to do with what is happening in our lives, except for the fact that he tramples on my rights? I want my successors, I want to watch the Olympic Games, which I grew up with, I want my country to take part with the flag and the anthem. Who is he to forbid us? I wouldn’t look in this direction anymore and wouldn’t look back,” concluded Fetisov.