The Russian Olympic Committee on Tuesday considered the recommendation of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in international competitions individually and under a neutral flag a “discriminatory” measure.
“The announced criteria for a return to international competition are unacceptable. This is discrimination based on nationality,” Stanislav Pozdnyakov, chairman of the Russian Committee, said at a press conference broadcast on state television.
On Tuesday, the IOC recommended that Russian and Belarusian athletes participate in international competitions under a neutral flag, postponing a decision on their participation in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris to a later date.
The rule, meant to keep out athletes employed by the Russian military, Pozdnyakov believes it “weakens Russian sport as a whole” by pitting it against that country’s society, but sees the opening of the IOC’s doors as “an admission” that the IOC was wrong to exclude them a year ago .
As IOC President Thomas Bach explained at a press conference, after the meeting of the executive committee of the organization, the recommendation to international federations opens the door for the participation of athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport in competitions “as neutral or individual”. preventing the presence of teams from these countries, athletes “actively supporting the war” in Ukraine and representatives of the armed forces and law enforcement agencies, while maintaining direct sanctions against the states of Russia and Belarus.
As for participation in Paris 2024 (summer) and Milan-Cortina 2026 (winter), Bach postponed the decision on this issue to the “opportune moment”, postponing his position on this issue, after the “threat” of a boycott from Ukraine, Poland and The Baltic countries, on this day he opened the doors for athletes from these countries to return to major international competitions.
The Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be held in the French capital from July 26 to August 11 (Olympic Games) and from August 28 to September 8 (Paralympic Games).
The Russian invasion, which began on February 24, 2022 and is justified by Russian President Vladimir Putin as the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security, has been condemned by the international community at large, which has responded by sending arms supplies to Ukraine and imposing political and economic sanctions against Russia.