IOC President Bach criticizes the way Russian athletes are treated
Among other things, Thomas Bach criticizes the organizers of Wimbledon for their treatment of Russian athletes
Which: AFP/PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU
Thomas Bach criticizes the British government for indirectly influencing the field of participants in Wimbledon. Russian athletes are not allowed to start there, even under a neutral flag. The own IOC ban was also a “protective measure”.
JFor years, Thomas Bach was considered a good friend of Vladimir Putin. The IOC President and the President of Russia were happy to be photographed together. Even after Putin gave the order to invade neighboring Ukraine, the powerful sports official Bach was reluctant to distance himself from the Kremlin chief.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) responded to Russian aggression and banned Russian and Belarusian athletes; they may – if at all – only take part in international competitions under a neutral flag.
These days, Bach caused frowns with statements about political influence. The head of the IOC sees the danger for the Olympic summer sports associations of “becoming a political tool” in the ongoing war in Ukraine.
The official said at an event of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) in Lausanne, Switzerland, according to the industry service “Inside the Games” that the associations should not be influenced by politics or otherwise risk being instrumentalized.
Bach demands respect
“We need the governments’ respect for our role,” said Bach, referring to the current events in tennis: “Look at our tennis friends, in Paris Russian players can play as neutral athletes, in London, in Wimbledon, says the government no, and if we allow that, if we give in, then we are doomed.”
Putin (right) and Bach during the opening ceremony of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games
Source: dpa/EPA
Bach, 68, showed no understanding that governments use their own political interests to decide who can and cannot enter a competition, citing the difference between the French Open and Wimbledon as an example.
“If you open this gate, today it’s Russia and Belarus, tomorrow it’s your country, there is no country in the world that is loved by any other government,” Bach said to the audience. This is “against all the principles we stand for,” said the German. In his speech, however, Bach omitted that the reason for the lack of “love” was an aggressive war of aggression.
Ban to “protect” the athletes
For years, the IOC boss has been preaching his mantra, according to which sport and politics should be considered separately – but only when it’s appropriate. Bach was celebrated for the joint Korean ice hockey team at the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang. At the Winter Games in Beijing, on the other hand, he remained staunchly silent about the impending war in Ukraine and human rights violations in China.
In Lausanne, Bach emphasized that anyone who supports the war “can and should be sanctioned”, but also warned: “But anyone who does not support the war must have their rights respected. There should be no sanctions for having a passport.”
According to Bach, the ban on the IOC was also imposed to protect athletes from the affected countries. The IOC felt that safety at international competitions could no longer be guaranteed and that the athletes were being subjected to aggressive actions. He warned that sport should build important bridges in this world.
