2024-03-20 12:09:35
The President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach drew attention to the growing verbal aggressiveness of the Russian government with the upcoming Olympics in Paris. According to today’s IOC decision, athletes from Russia and Belarus will not be able to participate in the opening ceremony.
Due to the ongoing Russian aggression in Ukraine, which Belarus supports, athletes from these countries can only compete as neutrals in Paris.
They may not use national symbols such as the flag or anthem and may not participate in team competitions.
Only non-military athletes who do not actively support or have not supported the war in Ukraine in the past will be eligible for the Games.
In addition, athletes from Russia and Belarus will not be allowed to participate in the ceremonial start of the teams at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris. The International Olympic Committee informed about the exclusion of representatives from both countries from the traditional parade of expeditions after today’s meeting of its executive committee.
The Russian side has been criticizing the conditions of participation for a long time. While the country’s sports minister, Oleg Matycin, opposed a possible boycott of the Olympics last week and spoke rather restrainedly, other Russian officials do not go far for harsh words.
“The IOC does not comment on this, but we see that the aggressiveness of the government is growing every day. Towards the IOC, towards the Olympics, towards me. It goes from ‘fascist’ to ‘destroyer of the games and the Olympic movement’,” said Bach in an interview with the French newspaper Le Monde.
“And it all comes from Russian officials. I don’t know if it comes directly from Vladimir Putin. I don’t look at Telegram every day, I’m not such a masochist, but the attacks come from all levels,” added the head of the IOC.
According to estimates, a total of around sixty athletes from both countries could participate as neutrals in the Olympic Games in Paris. The IOC expects approximately 36 athletes with Russian and 22 with Belarusian passports to start.
So far, according to IOC director James MacLeod, 12 Russians and seven Belarusians have qualified, and their eligibility to start has yet to be checked by a special three-member IOC commission.
The grand opening on the Seine is scheduled for July 26. Instead of the usual boarding at the stadium, the individual expeditions will sail under their flags on boats along the river several kilometers to the Eiffel Tower.
According to the IOC, Russian and Belarusian athletes will get the opportunity to experience the event, but they will probably only watch the parade from the shore.
A decision on whether they will participate in the induction at the closing ceremony, which tends to be less formal, will be taken later. The games are scheduled to end on August 11.
Bach ruled out that athletes from Israel, which is also currently at war, would have to participate in the Olympic Games as neutrals.
“Things are very clear. Unlike the Russian Olympic Committee, the Israeli Olympic Committee has not violated the Olympic Charter,” Bach pointed out.
“The Russian Olympic Committee wants to exercise its powers even in territories annexed by the Russian government. This is a violation of the territorial integrity and the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine,” he explained.
He reminded that the Palestinian Olympic Committee also operates in the Olympic world alongside the Israeli one.
“These two National Olympic Committees have coexisted peacefully for 30 years,” Bach noted.
The first man of the Olympic Committee also guaranteed that Palestinian athletes will also compete in Paris. “If not enough of them qualify, we will invite them. We can rely on our Olympic Solidarity Program, which states the requirement for a minimum of six athletes from each National Olympic Committee,” said Bach.
Palestine has been participating in the Summer Olympics since Atlanta 1996. Five Olympians competed under its flag in Tokyo three years ago. Palestinian athletes have not yet won an Olympic medal. They have also not participated in any Winter Olympics yet.