COUNCIL OF EUROPE: SPORT MUST STAND FOR PEOPLE

img

At Play the Game 2025, held under the auspices of the Council of Europe, delegates from around the world reaffirmed the link between sport, democracy, and human rights.

Yet one voice was miss­ing: that of Ana­tol Kotau, the Belaru­sian activist who dis­ap­peared in Turkey while work­ing to defend ath­letes per­se­cut­ed by the Lukashenko regime.

As the Deputy Sec­re­tary Gen­er­al of the Coun­cil of Europe empha­sized, sport has the pow­er and the duty to pro­tect those who fight for fair­ness and free­dom. The case of Ana­tol Kotau is a test of whether inter­na­tion­al orga­ni­za­tions tru­ly care about peo­ple as much as sport itself.

It is time for UEFA, the IOC, and nation­al fed­er­a­tions to stand up. Defend­ing human rights is not a polit­i­cal act: it is a moral oblig­a­tion.

🔗 Learn more via the Coun­cil of Europe: https://www.coe.int/en/web/deputy-secretary-general/-/play-the-game-2025