International Olympic Committee recommends Sports Federations ban Russia and Belarusian athletes and officials from international events

Published by BBNTEAM at February 28, 2022

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Posted: Monday, February 28, 2022. 12:03 pm CST.

Photo Credit: IOC

By Rubén Morales Iglesias: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has on Monday recommended that international sports federations and sports organizers ban Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from international events.

The IOC said that its mission is “to contribute to peace through sport and to unite the world in peaceful competition beyond all political disputes” and “the Olympic Movement is united in its sense of fairness not to punish athletes for the decisions of their government if they are not actively participating in them,” the war in Ukraine put the Olympic Movement in a dilemma.

The IOC said that it cannot be that Russian and Belarusian athletes continue to compete internationally while Ukrainian athletes cannot because their country is being attacked.

“In order to protect the integrity of global sports competitions and for the safety of all the participants,” the IOC recommended that “International Sports Federations and sports event organizers not invite or allow the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials in international competitions”.

It also said that where that is not possible due to short notice for organizational or legal reasons, that International Sports Federations and organizers of sports events worldwide “ensure that no athlete or sports official from Russia or Belarus be allowed to take part under the name of Russia or Belarus”. It added that in those cases, Russian or Belarusian athletes should be accepted only as neutral athletes or neutral teams and that no national symbols, colours, flags, or anthems should be displayed.

The IOC also stood its ground on its recommendation that no international events are staged in Russia or Belarus.

The IOC also said that considering the Russian government’s extremely grave violation of the Olympic Truce and other violations of the Olympic Charter, it was withdrawing the Olympic Order awarded to Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation in 2001, Chernyshenko, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation in 2014, and Dmitry Kozak, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office in 2014, and from “all persons who currently have an important function in the government of the Russian Federation or other government-related high-ranking position”.

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