Russian kart champion Artem Severiukhin delivered a Nazi salute on the podium after winning a match in Portugal at the weekend. The 15-year-old finished first in the opening match of the European Karting Championship in Portimao on Sunday. But as he stood on the podium during the post-match ceremony, Severijin hit him in the chest and spread his right hand while the Italian national anthem was played. Severijin then laughed a few moments after the execution of the gesture, which was also used during the reign of Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the FIA, the governing body of motorsport, allows Russian drivers to continue racing at events, but the Russian flag can not be displayed and the national anthem can not be played during post-match ceremonies. As a result, Severiukhin ran under the Italian flag during Sunday’s event in Portugal. Artem Severiukhin, who was competing under the Italian flag, gave the greeting on the podium in Portugal (Nexa TV) Artem Severiukhin laughed after making the fascist gesture (Nexa TV) Severyukhin is not the first Russian athlete to spark controversy after the invasion of Ukraine, as 20-year-old gymnast Ivan Kuliak wore his nation’s “Z” war symbol during a medal ceremony in Doha. The symbol has been seen painted on Russian military vehicles since their invasion of Ukraine began. Kuliak, who wore the symbol with a Ukrainian athlete, defended his decision after provoking anger. Russian gymnast Ivan Kuliak wore the “Z” symbol on his chest during an event in Doha last month.
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“If there was a second chance and I had the choice of going out with the letter ‘Z’ on my chest or not, I would do the same,” he told Russia Today. “I saw it in our army and I looked at what this symbol means. It turned out to be “for victory” and “for peace”. I just wanted to show my position. “As an athlete I will always fight for victory and I will play for peace.” For more stories like this, check out our sports page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
