(Sports news) International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach has said that Ukraine’s threats of boycotting the Paris Olympics if Russian and Belarusian athletes are allowed to compete as “extremely regrettable” after which Athletes for Ukraine accused the IOC of being “on the wrong side of history”. Ukraine is hoping to get international support for a ban on athletes from the two countries due to Russia’s invasion. The IOC has said that it will “explore a pathway” for Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutrals.
Ukraine’s sports minister Vadym Guttsait, who is also in-charge of the country’s Olympic Committee has said that they should boycott the 2024 Paris Olympic Games with a number of European countries expressing their support. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said that by allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete, the IOC will be showing that “terror is somehow acceptable”.
As a response, IOC president Thomas Bach has said comments from Ukrainian officials suggesting allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes would promote the war are “defamatory”. He continued by saying that calls for boycott are “premature” as there are no concrete plans to allow the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes as neutrals. He went on to accuse Ukraine of “pressuring” international federations “in an attempt to publicly influence their decision making” and claims this has been “perceived by the vast majority of them as, at the very least, extremely regrettable”.
In his (Thomas Bach’s) letter, he cited a United Nations resolution that said “any form of discrimination is incompatible with the Olympic movement” and two UN special rapporteurs expressing concerns over a total ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes being discriminatory. Bach said these were reasons for considering their inclusion as neutrals. He added that a boycott would be a “violation of the Olympic charter” and goes against the “fundamentals” and “principles” of the Olympic movement.
Also read: Nordic countries call for Russia to be banned from Paris 2024 Olympics
