The International Olympic Committee responds to Putin’s accusation of ‘ethnic discrimination’ towards Russian athletes who could participate in the Olympics.
The International Olympic Committee rejected Russian President Vladimir Putin’s allegations of “ethnic discrimination” against athletes who are barred from participating in international sports.
The IOC has recommended that sports organizations assess Russian athletes this year to determine their eligibility to compete as neutral individuals without representing their nation in the 2024 Paris Olympics. However, teams from Russia will still be excluded from participating.
Athletes who have not shown active support for the war and are not affiliated with military or state security agencies may be granted a neutral status. However, there have been inconsistencies in the application of these rules across various sports.
The IOC stated that they strongly deny the allegations of “ethnic discrimination” regarding these measures, in response to Putin’s speech.
“The Olympic organization stated that these actions are a response to the violation of the Olympic Charter by the governments of Russia and Belarus. This refers to the military incursion into Ukraine, which began in February 2022, just four days after the conclusion of the Beijing Winter Games. It is important to note that the United Nations-supported Olympic Truce was still in effect at that time.”
According to reports, Putin expressed dissatisfaction on Thursday about the fact that invitations to the Olympics were not being granted solely based on the merits of the best athletes.
However, the Olympic Charter details: “Nobody is entitled as of right to participate in the Olympic Games.”
Article 44 of the book of rules and principles guiding Olympic sports states that the IOC reserves the right to accept or refuse any entry at its discretion, without providing reasons.
Though the IOC last year urged a blanket isolation of Russia and Belarus from international sport, that position eased to become an aim to avoid discrimination based on an individual’s passport once qualifying events for Paris approached.
The IOC stated on Friday that the criteria they have established for assessing “individual neutral athletes holding a Russian or Belarusian passport” are in accordance with the charter.
The charter mandates that every national Olympic committee (NOC) must participate in the Olympiad Games by sending athletes.
The Russian NOC was suspended by the IOC recently due to their inclusion of sports councils from occupied regions of eastern Ukraine as members. However, the IOC still has the authority to directly invite athletes through their respective sports governing body.
IOC President Thomas Bach has consistently stated that the organization has the authority to make a decision that may result in the exclusion of all Russian participants from Paris prior to the commencement of the opening ceremony on July 26.
