The Politicization of Sports Against Venezuela

By Misión Verdad – May 9, 2024

It is a myth that sports are a neutral space where geopolitical conflicts have no place and imperial powers do not impose their logic of domination and subjugation. Proof of this can be seen in the constant harassment to which Venezuelan athletes are subjected every time they represent the country in international competitions.

Delays in the issuing of visas, denial of visas, and the imposition of outrageous conditions are some of the obstacles imposed on Venezuelan athletes, which undoubtedly have had an impact on their performance, since the uncertainty generated by the sports bureaucracy has psychological and physical effects.

Recently, the Venezuelan government denounced the US State Department for taking advantage of the United States’ pro tempore presidency of the 24th General Assembly of the American Sports Council (CADE) to unjustifiably deny accreditation and access to the representative designated by the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela for participating in the event.

#Denuncia EEUU viola los principios fundamentales del deporte, negando la participación de #Venezuela, de manera injustificada, en la Asamblea del Consejo Americano del Deporte (CADE), realizada en Washington. pic.twitter.com/YdK2AT0oCz
— Yvan Gil (@yvangil) April 26, 2024

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Venezuela stressed in a statement issued on April 25 that this action “represents a flagrant violation of the internal regulations and the fundamental principles of sports.”

A week later another statement was issued by the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry criticizing the method implemented by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in choosing the Refugee Olympic Team, “which inappropriately included a Venezuelan national in the Shooting discipline, who does not meet the international criteria to be classified as a refugee.”

#Comunicado Venezuela rechaza el método implementado por la Oficina de @ACNUR_es en la escogencia del Equipo Olímpico de Refugiados, donde inadecuadamente incluyó a un señor de nacionalidad venezolana en la disciplina de Tiro Deportivo, quien no cumple los criterios… pic.twitter.com/GURPzydeoN
— Yvan Gil (@yvangil) May 4, 2024

Venezuela criticized the lack of transparency in selecting this sportsman who lacks the qualities to participate in a high performance sport at the Olympics. Basically, the aim of the selection was to politicize the “participation” in the Olympic Games in order to project the notion that there are Venezuelans displaced from their homeland due to political persecution and war.

The Venezuelan government also highlighted the importance of preventing this inappropriate selection from having negative impact on the spirit of the national teams that are still in the process of qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, and on sports on a global scale.

Venezuela Criticizes Inclusion of Venezuelan in Olympic Refugee Team

The participation of Venezuelan nationals in the UNHCR refugee team is part of the plot to solidify the imperialist narrative that portrays Venezuela as a “failed state.” Therefore, it is not unreasonable to visualize scenarios where the International Olympic Committee (IOC) could leave Venezuela out of international competitions, as it did with Russia and Belarus in 2022 after the beginning of Russia’s Special Military Operation in Ukraine.

Paradoxically, IOC President Thomas Bach argued that the Russian Federation was excluded as a “protective measure to safeguard the integrity of international competitions” in light of the “deep anti-Russian and anti-Belarusian sentiments in so many countries following the invasion.”

However, it is clear that international sports remains a predominantly Western affair, as Leo Goretti states, so it is not difficult to exclude a country that is not aligned with Western interests. Russia had its sporting merits erased with the stroke of a pen, was banned from displaying its national flag and symbols at competitions, among other similar decisions.

The IOC’s double standards are evident when Israel has so far not been excluded from any competition despite its ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. It seems that for FIFA and the IOC, sports and politics are separate only when it comes to a US ally. The demand to censor Israel from international competitions is growing every day, but it seems that the IOC is not going to anything in that regard.

The politicization of sports is not new, nor is the systematic attack against Venezuelan athletes. In recent years, there have been attempts to prevent Venezuela’s participation in international tournaments.

In 2022, the Venezuelan government denounced Canada for not issuing visas to the men’s basketball team. That same year, in September, Chile denied visas to the Venezuelan men’s volleyball team for its participation in the qualifiers for the Pan American Games. The list of such actions that seek to prevent Venezuelan participation and diminish the spirit of Venezuelan athletes is long and includes all categories and ages.

(Misión Verdad)

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

OT/SC/DZ