Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin has lashed out at international politicians’ demands to ban Russian athletes from the 2024 Paris Olympics, calling it “absolutely unacceptable” that governments are trying to influence the sport. International Olympic Committee (IOC). His reaction on Saturday came after Lithuanian Sports Minister Jurgita Siugzdiniene announced the “unanimous” opinion of a group of some 35 countries that athletes from Russia and Belarus should be excluded from the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The ministers of countries such as the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Germany and Australia oppose the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes, even under a neutral flag. A virtual meeting of sports ministers was held on Friday, which was also attended by the President of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelensky. Zelensky declared that the presence of Russian competitors “cannot be covered up with a pretended neutrality or a white flag”, and stated that their presence would be a “manifestation of violence and lawlessness”.
Matytsin told reporters, according to the Russian news agency TASS, that other nations had no right to put pressure on the Olympic officials. “This is a direct intervention by the ministers in the activities of independent international sports organizations, an attempt to dictate the conditions for the participation of athletes in international competitions, which is absolutely unacceptable.” pointed. “In addition, more than a month ago, the national Olympic committees of these countries supported the IOC decision on the participation of our athletes in competitions. These countries are putting pressure on the activities of independent public organizations. Now we see an undisguised desire to destroy the unity of international sport and the international Olympic movement, to make sport a means of lobbying to resolve political issues,” he said, assuring that sport should be used “to be an ambassador of peace and build bridges among the peoples”.
Ukrainian athletes have accused the IOC of “being on the wrong side of history”, as Games organizers study whether athletes from Russia and Belarus, which has supported Russian invasion efforts, should be allowed to participate in Paris. ANDIOC President Thomas Bach previously criticized Ukrainian calls to boycott the Olympics if Russians and Belarusians were allowed to participate. In a statement issued in partnership with the Global Athlete union, the Ukrainian Olympic Committee said allowing Russia to compete would allow the country to “use athletes to bolster the war effort and divert attention from atrocities in Ukraine.”
