The International Olympic Committee (IOC) suspended Russia with immediate effect due to the inclusion of sports associations from the annexed Ukrainian territories. The IOC announced this on the website after the meeting in Mumbai.
At the beginning of October, the Russian Olympic Committee unanimously approved the acceptance of sports organizations from the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporozhye regions. And, according to the IOC, he violated the Olympic Charter.
Unions from the occupied territories fall under the Ukrainian Olympic Committee, whose territorial integrity, as defined by the Olympic Charter, was violated by Russia. Therefore, it was suspended until further notice, which means, among other things, that it will lose funding from the IOC.
Ukraine welcomed the verdict. “Sports and politics cannot be separated. Especially when a terrorist country is carrying out genocide in Ukraine and uses athletes for propaganda,” said the head of the Ukrainian president’s office, Andriy Jermak, according to AFP.
The Russian Olympic Committee called the decision a counterproductive and clearly politically motivated gesture. According to him, the IOC thus ensured a return to the situation until February 2022, when Russia was excluded from the vast majority of international competitions.
However, the IOC emphasized that the punishment does not affect the decision whether Russian athletes will be allowed to compete in the 2024 Summer Games in Paris. “Our previous recommendations still stand,” agencies quoted IOC spokesman Mark Adams as saying.
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last February, the IOC called for the exclusion of Russians and Belarusians from all competitions. But in March this year, he recommended that individuals be allowed to start at the games as neutral athletes.
“The March recommendation remains in place and the IOC reserves the right to decide on the possible entry of individual Russian representatives as neutral athletes at the 2024 and 2026 Games,” Adams said.
Adams did not say when the IOC should decide on the start of the Russians at the Paris Games. Today, he only stated that this will happen as the games get closer. The Olympics in Paris will begin on July 26.
2023-10-12 14:16:48
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