Dhe sports officials in Moscow have sharply criticized the limited re-admission of their own athletes to international competitions. “The announced parameters and criteria for the return of Russians to international starts are absolutely unreasonable,” said Russia’s National Olympic Committee (NOC). After all, the decision of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is an “admission of one’s own mistake” in completely excluding Russian athletes from international competitions.
Shortly after the start of the war of aggression against Ukraine ordered by Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin, the IOC recommended banning Russian and Belarusian athletes from international sporting events. On Tuesday, the IOC spoke out in favor of allowing athletes from both countries to start again under certain conditions under a neutral flag. According to the decision, athletes with connections to the military and security organs as well as teams should remain excluded. A decision on allowing Russians and Belarusians to participate in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris will only be made at a later date, emphasized IOC President Thomas Bach.
In Moscow, the restrictions that are still in place are met with resistance. The neutral status is “obvious discrimination based on national origin”. In addition, the additional doping controls for Russian athletes are “unfounded, legally untenable and superfluous,” according to the Russian NOC. The officials are also dissatisfied with the continued disqualification in team sports and the ban on athletes who train in clubs that are close to the Russian army or other security agencies.
“Against this background, if we are basically being proposed to give up the dream of thousands of athletes for an Olympic medal, the proposed restrictions on posting certain content on social networks of Russian Olympians look like submission to external political pressure,” criticized das NOK also bans athletes from supporting Russia’s war in the media.
Klitschko sharply criticizes Bach
Former world boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko has also criticized the International Olympic Committee’s decision on the possible return of Russian and Belarusian athletes, but from a different perspective. “This decision pollutes the Olympic spirit and is like this war: nonsense,” the 47-year-old Ukrainian wrote on Twitter, along with a picture of himself with the Atlanta 1996 Olympic gold medal around his neck.
In addition, Klitschko accused IOC President Thomas Bach of serving the “colors and interests of Russia”. He described the recommendation to the world federations to allow the excluded athletes back under conditions such as 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.
