The International Olympic Committee announced the athletes from Russia and Belarus.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced today that it recommended international sports federations to include Russian and Belarusian athletes in the competition system in individual sports, but under a neutral flag, the Fonet agency reported.
As stated, in the written statement of IOC President Thomas Bach, it is stated that at the session of the IOC Executive Committee, it was decided that the inclusion of Russians and Belarusians in the team sports competition cannot be taken into consideration. Bach pointed out that for now they have not decided whether Russian and Belarusian athletes in individual sports will be able to participate in the Summer Olympics in Paris in 2024 and the Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo in 2006. According to his words, the decision will be made at the appropriate time and without being bound by the results of the previous qualifications.
When making the decision on the return of Russians and Belarusians in individual sports, the Executive Board had in mind the recent ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union that no sanctions can be based only on the possession of a passport of a certain country, nor can they be applied only on the basis of nationality, Bach said. .
In addition, the urgent request of the Special Rapporteur for the field of cultural rights and the Special Rapporteur for contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance of the United Nations Human Rights Council was taken into account.
Bach stated that sanctions against those responsible for the war must remain in place, meaning that Russia and Belarus cannot organize international sports competitions and that no Russian or Belarusian government official can be invited or accredited to any international sports competition.
Russian and Belarusian athletes were excluded from international competitions in February last year, and in December the IOC announced that they could return in individual sports.
After that, Ukraine threatened to boycott the Olympic Games in Paris, and Bach reminded the basic principle of the IOC that the influence of politics in sports is prohibited and warned international sports federations that they do not have the right to decide on their own who can and who cannot participate in competitions which they organize.