“The IOC serves the colors and interests of Russia”
IOC recommends return of Russian athletes to world sport
Russian and Belarusian athletes should no longer be banned from world sport. The International Olympic Committee recommends this to the world associations. However, the IOC executive presupposes various conditions for reintegration.
Despite the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the IOC has spoken out in favor of a return of Russian and Belarusian athletes to the international stage. The decision causes misunderstanding. Wladimir Klitschko sharply attacks IOC President Thomas Bach.
TDespite all the criticism, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has spoken out in favor of the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes under certain conditions. According to IOC President Thomas Bach, a decision on the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris has not yet been made. Berlin and Warsaw sharply criticized the recommendations, Moscow spoke of “discrimination”. Kiev welcomed the postponement of the Paris decision.
The IOC executive has recommended to the world associations and organizers of international sporting events that the athletes concerned should only compete individually and under a neutral flag and must be committed to strict neutrality, said Bach. Teams from both countries are excluded, as are athletes who belong to the military or national security authorities or who “actively support” the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine.
Despite these limitations, the IOC’s decision has met with fierce criticism. “This decision pollutes the Olympic spirit and is like this war: nonsense,” Wladimir Klitschko wrote on Twitter, posting a picture of himself with the Atlanta 1996 Olympic gold medal around his neck. The brother of Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko accused Bach of serving the “colors and interests of Russia”.
He described the recommendation to the world associations to re-admit the excluded athletes under a “neutral flag” as a “false flag”. Since the Russian war of aggression in his homeland, Wladimir Klitschko has been one of Bach’s greatest critics.
“No one knows what will happen tomorrow or in nine months”
The German IOC President reiterated that it is not yet clear whether Russian and Belarusian athletes will be allowed to compete in Paris next year and at the Winter Games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo in 2026: “That will be done in due course and after” decided at their own discretion. Nobody knows what will happen tomorrow or in nine months’ time.”
Wladimir Klitschko won Olympic gold in Atlanta in 1996
Source: dpa/Kay Nietfeld
In a first reaction to the IOC’s decision, Federal Interior Minister and Sports Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) spoke of a “slap in the face to the Ukrainian athletes”. “International sport must clearly condemn the brutal Russian war of aggression,” demanded Faeser. This is only possible with a “complete exclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes”. The minister continued to criticize that the Olympic Games would not take place “in a vacuum”. “Anyone who lets the warmonger Russia use international competitions for its propaganda harms the Olympic ideal of peace and international understanding.”
Poland speaks of the “day of absolute shame”
Meanwhile, Poland has criticized the IOC’s decision as a scandal. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki wrote on Twitter: “We will do everything we can to ensure that sport remains free of Russian influence.” Deputy Foreign Minister Piotr Wawrzyk spoke of one “Day of Absolute Shame” for the IOC. The decision gives Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin an argument for his propaganda that the West has given way despite Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
The World Athletics Federation stands by its rejection regardless of the IOC’s recommendation. “Nothing has changed in World Athletics’ position,” it said in a statement Wednesday. The council of the world association had decided last week not to let the athletes of the two countries take part in the meetings and title fights under its direction until further notice because of the war of aggression against Ukraine.
“As the IOC has said, the decision on admission is the responsibility of the international federations,” it said. The European Athletics Association Eaa had also opted for another exclusion.
The German Athletics Association (DLV) is on the same line. “Even after the recommendations of the International Olympic Committee for Russian and Belarusian athletes to start at international sporting events, we are sticking to our previous position,” emphasized DLV CEO Idriss Gonschinska. The association cannot imagine athletes from these two countries starting at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris as long as there are acts of war by Russia against Ukraine.
