The International Olympic Committee has had to put up with criticism on the thorny issue of re-admitting Russian and Belarusian athletes. The same sharp words came from Ukraine following the decision on their possible return as from Russia. Former world boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko accused IOC President Thomas Bach of serving the “colors and interests of Russia”. Russia’s Sports Minister Oleg Matyzin, meanwhile, complained regarding the “inhumane” IOC decision.
On Tuesday, the IOC recommended the re-admission of Russian and Belarusian athletes as neutral athletes to international competitions. According to the decision of the IOC leadership, athletes from both countries with connections to the military and security organs as well as teams should remain excluded. Bach emphasized that a decision on allowing Russians and Belarusians to participate in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris will only be made at a later date.
The IOC recommended that the world associations set up an independent body. This is intended to ensure a uniform interpretation of the guidelines adopted by the umbrella organization for the return of athletes from both countries to world sport. The body should be founded under the umbrella of the associations of summer and winter sports associations and the non-Olympic world associations, it said.
Among other things, the IOC recommended that these athletes should be listed as neutral individual starters under the French abbreviation AIN. Your competition attire should be either all white or another single color. Team logos are forbidden to Russians and Belarusians, as are national symbols, flags and playing their anthems. Athletes from both countries with connections to the military and security bodies and teams remain locked out.
The limited approval was criticized from Moscow. “The announced parameters and criteria for the return of Russians to international starts are absolutely unreasonable,” said Russia’s National Olympic Committee (NOC). After all, the IOC’s decision is an “admission of one’s own mistake” in completely excluding Russian athletes from international competitions. Russia’s sports officials also dislike the ban on athletes who train in clubs affiliated with the Russian army or other security agencies.
