World Taekwondo has decided to withdraw the honorary 9th dan black belt conferred to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
According to the announcement made by the World Taekwondo, Putin has been stripped of his honorary Taekwondo black belt for mounting an attack against Ukraine.
‘World Taekwondo strongly condemns the brutal attacks on innocent lives in Ukraine, which goes against the World Taekwondo vision of “Peace is More Precious than Triumph” and the World Taekwondo values of respect and tolerance, the sport’s governing body said in a statement posted on Twitter.
According to the post, In solidarity with the International Olympic Committee, no Russian or Belarusian national flags or anthems will be displayed or played at World Taekwondo events. And World Taekwondo and the European Taekwondo Union will not organize or recognize Taekwondo events in Russia and Belarus.
This comes after football organizations FIFA and UEFA said they have suspended the Russian national team and clubs from competitions. The honorary 9th dan black belt was conferred to Mr. Vladimir Putin in November 2013.
