The International Olympic Committee (IOC) released a huge statement in which it answered a question about plans to allow Russians and Belarusians to world competitions.
A week ago, the IOC reported that world sports officials are now discussing possible criteria for the return of representatives of Russia and Belarus to world sports.
The main ones sounded like this: athletes must compete in a neutral status, pass a strict test for compliance with doping rules and, most importantly, not harm the peaceful mission of the IOC – that is, not by word or deed support the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The idea of the IOC was perceived ambiguously. Ukraine spoke out most sharply – its National Olympic Committee threatened to fight the 2024 Games in Paris if Russia was allowed there.
President Volodymyr Zelensky personally criticized the proposal. He even invited the head of the IOC, Thomas Bach, to Bachmut, where the heaviest fighting is now taking place, to make sure that neutrality in such matters is unacceptable.
Other countries also reacted differently to the plan. For example, the Olympic Council of Asia expressed its readiness to accept Russians and Belarusians at their competitions. Some European countries were strongly opposed. Latvia said they would boycott Paris if Russians and Belarusians were allowed to attend the Games during the war.
In Russia, the idea has caused indignation in part of the sports community – the IOC is accused of politicizing the competition.
Today, the IOC responded in detail to the criticism.
Here is what the position of the organization looks like:
The UN position on discrimination based on passport ownership and the very principles of the Olympic movement do not allow continuing the complete exclusion of Russians and Belarusians from competitions without any discussion – they suggest that there should be a unifying mission in sports.
The fact that Russians and Belarusians will be allowed to the 2024 Games is out of the question. So far, the IOC has only taken part in consultations with sports federations regarding the admission of Russians and Belarusians to competitions in Asia. In any case, even if athletes with the passport of countries under sanctions are invited to Paris, they should be perceived not as Russians and Belarusians, but as neutral athletes who have passed a rigorous check.
The mechanisms that will allow separating athletes into neutral and supporters in the war in Ukraine are still being discussed – there are no decisions. What will happen to team sports is unclear.
There will be no special selection for Russians and Belarusians who will miss the qualifying competitions for the Olympics.
Statements by Ukrainian officials threatening to boycott the Olympics make the IOC “regret” – they contradict the values of the Olympic movement. At the same time, the IOC maintains full solidarity with Ukraine and its athletes. Regarding the invitation of Volodymyr Zeleny, Thomas Bach has no plans to travel to Ukraine yet.
The objections of Russian officials demanding that athletes be allowed to compete on equal terms will not be considered at all – athletes will go to any competition only with complete neutrality.
The IOC advised paying attention to the fact that in some sports, athletes from Ukraine and Russia continue to compete with each other – for example, this happened during the recently ended Australian Open tennis tournament. Russians and Belarusians were admitted to it under a neutral flag, and the representative of Belarus Arina Sabalenko even won the final.
Background
Currently, most international sports federations have suspended Russia and Belarus from participating in tournaments (although both countries have been reinstated in the boxing and tennis federations). In 2023, a significant part of the qualification for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris will take place. So far, athletes from these countries cannot take part in it. They missed the 2022 Winter Paralympics in Beijing. At the Olympics, which took place before the full-scale invasion, the Russians competed under a neutral flag – due to a doping-related disqualification.
On January 26, at a meeting of the IOC Executive Board, the proposal of the Olympic Summit adopted in December to review the recommendations on the removal of Russians and Belarusians was considered.
On December 9, the summit participants continued the recommendations of the IOC on the suspension of Russian and Belarusian athletes and discussed their possible return. At the summit, it was decided that the ban of athletes from Russia and the Republic of Belarus contradicts the mission of “uniting the world in peaceful competitions” and prohibits athletes from competing only through their passport.
On January 26, the IOC banned holding international competitions in Olympic sports in Russia and Belarus and preventing the appearance of the national symbols of these two countries on them (we are talking about the entire location of such competitions, including the stands). In addition, no politician from Russia and Belarus can be invited to international competitions.
But the IOC said in a statement about “respect for the right of all athletes not to be discriminated against.” The IOC stressed that national governments should not decide which athletes can compete and who can’t.
The IOC Executive Board named two possible conditions for the participation of Russians and Belarusians in the competition:
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They will compete as neutral athletes.
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Only those Russians and Belarusians who support the “peaceful mission of the IOC”, do not violate the anti-doping code and do not support the war in Ukraine will be accepted to the Olympics. At the same time, each athlete is promised to be checked individually for compliance with these provisions. The procedure will obviously be developed later.
There is no final decision by the IOC on the return of Russians and Belarusians to international sports yet, the final decisions will be made by the international federations.
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.