World Taekwondo revokes Putin’s black belt, bans Russian events, flags and anthem

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02/03/2022

World Taekwondo, the international body that governs the sport of Taekwondo, has taken different actions to punish Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, including revoking Russian President Vladimir Putin's honorary 9th dan black belt status.
In a statement released Monday, World Taekwondo said it strongly condemns the brutal attacks on innocent lives in Ukraine, which go against the World Taekwondo vision of "Peace is More Precious than Triumph and the World Taekwondo values of respect and tolerance."

The international body announced it has decided to withdraw the honorary 9th dan black belt conferred to Putin in November of 2013.
World Taekwondo took the punishment of Russia further by banning the Russian flag from being displayed and the Russian national anthem to be played at World Taekwondo events. World Taekwondo announced similar punishments against Belarus, which facilitated Putin's invasion by allowing Russian forces to cross its southern border with Ukraine.
In addition to banning both the flags and national anthems of Russia and Belarus at all World Taekwondo events, World Taekwondo and the European Taekwondo Union will also stop organizing or recognizing Taekwondo events in Russia and Belarus.

Molly Patterson

Wow, pretty knockout news here! They sure kicked Putin where it hurts. No more flag waving, or anthem blaring, just a uniform gone grey! 🥋😄

Jake Westwood

Hey, even Taekwondo's giving the boot! Putin's gonna have to kick it old-school now. Who's up for a 'Karate Kid' marathon? 😂

Tommy Laughlin

Ha! Putin's probably gonna start his own "World Putin-do" instead. Don't mess with guy's martial art passion folks, consequences might be a kick in the face!

Oliver Thornton

Oh boy! If Putin has taekwondo-level stress, he could do karate chopping firewood instead! But seriously, sports and politics should roll in separate lanes. 🥋🚫🇷🇺