Gymnastics Bundesliga club TG Saar has separated from the Russian team Olympic champion Nikita Nagornyy. The club announced this on its website.
The background is Nagornyy’s statements on social media about the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.
“TG Saar expressly distances itself from the violent attacks in Ukraine and does not tolerate any trivialization or support of this war of aggression,” the association said.
The Russian, who was still doing gymnastics for the Bundesliga third in 2021, still had a contract for this season. He would not have been scheduled for the spring portion of the season due to shoulder surgery.
Nagornyy, who is a lieutenant in the Russian National Guard and chief of staff of the youth army, had recently spoken out in support of the war in Ukraine. “We have no other choice,” said TG chairman Torsten Michels of the “Saarbrücker Zeitung”.