Wow, please stop trying to make this unfair because other countries wasn´t banned. This is so much more bigger.
Please remember that this statement comes after IOC has strongly encouraged a ban over all sports disciplines, this is just not in figure skating. Every other sport does this now. Even FIS has turned around after massive pressure, but they didn´t ban the athlete first. The host doens´t want them either. Seriously, how do you expect that ISU was going to be the only organizer who doesn´t ban the athletes, when everybody else does it? That would look extremely bad and people would be furious.
I stand by ISU for making this decision now and don´t wait and give them false hope or put out another scandal like Olympic. If every other disciplines would ban the athletes except figure skating there would be exactly the same amount of negative media attention as with the doping scandal. The other athletes would not feel comfortable again with the situation, and it would be completely unfair for the others that another event would be overshadowed with another scandal. The athletes involved doesn´t deserve the negative attention that would be brought to them if they were allowed to compete. They don´t deserve it. Imo ISU is protecting them for not putting them in a position were they would constantly need to defend themselves again.
And for those who like to point out that it´s unfair that skaters doesn´t get their chance to medal or get their experience at WC. Please let me remind you that during the first year of the pandemic a lot of skaters from a lot of countries wasn´t able to compete at all because of their own countries strict travel restrictions. Some skaters did sit back an entire season internationally. ISU still decided to have some few competition where certain countries had an advantage because their skaters was able to go because of their countries policy. I don´t remember so many people calling about the unfairness then. Skaters retired because of this, they were unable to attend WC because they never had a fair shot of earning the minimums, the same WC where ISU would give out most of the spots for Olympic, making it almost impossible for those skaters/countries to get a spot later at NT.
Wasn't aware there was worlds at the time, heh. I watched Olympics that year, and was pretty sure Virtue/Moir were both ice-dance and pair skaters. But, I like, saw Uno and Zagitova... that's probably all I really noticed in 2018.
