Four-time Polish Olympic swimmer Bart Kizierowski rejected an offer to coach Malaysia’s national swimming team, saying he would not train the Malaysians after they refused to admit Israeli athletes into the country.
By: JNS.org
After the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) stripped Malaysia over the weekend of its right to host the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships due to the country’s announcement that it would not allow Israelis to compete, the Asian nation got more bad news at the beginning of this week.
“I was offered a very attractive coaching position from the Malaysian Swimming Federation,” four-time Polish Olympic swimmer Bart Kizierowski wrote on Twitter. “Among other personal reasons, I declined that function due to recent statements made by Malaysian politicians regarding refusal of visa for athletes that are supposed to compete at the world championships organized by that country. There is no place for that in sport.”
“Politics and sport are never a good mix,” said IPC President Andrew Parsons after the body governing board decided to disqualify Malaysia from hosting the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships. “We are disappointed that Israeli athletes would not have been allowed to compete in Malaysia.”
“All World Championships must be open to all eligible athletes and nations to compete safely and free from discrimination,” Parsons said. “When a host country excludes athletes from a particular nation, for political reasons, then we have absolutely no alternative but to look for a new championships host.”
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad responded Monday that “Israel is a criminal state and deserves to be condemned.”
“We maintain we have a right to bar Israelis from our country. When the world condemns us for this, we have a right to say that the world is being hypocritical,” he said.