Germany wants the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to “very carefully analyze” the backgrounds of Russian and Belarusian athletes and exclude from the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris those who supported the war in Ukraine.
“The International Olympic Committee and international federations must now clearly determine whether Russian and Belarusian athletes should be excluded if they in any way supported the Russian war of aggression or have any connection with the Russian government or Russian army. ” he said Minister Nancy Feiser, who holds the sports portfolio, said in a statement.
On Friday, the IOC allowed Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics under a neutral flag and on the condition that they do not actively support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Only 11 “neutral individual athletes” – eight Russians and three Belarusians – are currently eligible to compete in the next Olympic Games, from which the two countries remain excluded from team competition, the IOC said in a statement.
“Under no circumstances should Putin have the right to use the Olympic Games in Paris for his propaganda. That Russian teams remain excluded and flags and symbols are banned is the least we can expect from the IOC,” he added.
Following their expulsion from world sport in February 2022, the Olympic body said Russian and Belarusian athletes should not be punished for the actions of their governments.
In March, the IOC recommended that international federations reinstate Russians and Belarusians in their competitions under a neutral flag, but postponed “until a convenient moment” its own decision on presence at Paris 2024 and the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan. Cortina.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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