He International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended this Tuesday to the international federations and the organizers of sports competitions that authorize Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate “individually and as neutrals” and it earned criticism from several federations, including the Russian one, which called the initiative a “farce”.
“The decision of the IOC executive committee is a farce that violates the principles of the IOC and the UN. The announced conditions are absolutely inadmissible,” said Stanislav Pozdniakov, president of the Russian Olympic Committeebefore the local press.
On the opposite side, the novelty was not well received either. By case, the Polish government described as a “day of shame” for the IOC and alluded to “war crimes” committed by Russian troops in Ukraine.
“What has Russia done so positive that its athletes are allowed to return to international competitions?” Poland’s Deputy Foreign Minister Piotr Wawrzyk wrote on Twitter.
as long as German Minister of the Interior and Sports Nancy Faeser called Ukrainian athletes a “slap in the face” the IOC decision. “There is no reason for Russia to be allowed to return to world sport,” he said in a statement.
What did the IOC President say?
The truth is that after a meeting of its Executive Committee in Lausanne, Switzerland, the IOC communicated the recommendation through its president, the German Thomas Bach. The leader stressed that in no case has Russian and Belarusian participation in the Paris Olympics been considered yet.
“The conditions are not subject to the development of the warbut respect for the Olympic Charter and the Olympic values,” Bach said.
the german leader also differed from the United Nations, which established that maintaining the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes would have been discriminatory. “The Executive has come to the conclusion that If someone is bound by contract to an army, he is also bound by contract to support the war.”estimated.
“Therefore, (excluding them) is not discrimination, because such support is considered a violation of the Olympic Charter and the peace mission of the Olympic Movement”, sentenced the IOC boss.
The condition of neutrality imposed by the IOC on individual athletes implies the obligation to compete without the official symbols (flag, anthem, kit, etc.).
It is worth remembering that athletes from Russia and Belarus and the teams representing their countries do not participate in international competitions. since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022with few exceptions such as professional tennis circuits.