Baltic Olympic Committees Criticize IOC Stance on Athletes from Aggressor Nations

It has already been reported that last week the IOC announced recommendations to allow youth teams of the aggressor countries Russia and Belarus and representatives of individual sports to return to competitions with the symbols of their country.

Despite the IOC recommendation, the sports federations have the final say, and the recommendations apply only to youth teams, maintaining the previous restrictions for all adult teams and representatives of individual sports.

The IOC says the concern was raised by recommendations in which the IOC stated that athletes have a “fundamental right to access and compete in sport worldwide, free from political interference or pressure from government institutions”.

Reaffirming their complete trust in the Olympic Movement and its mission to inspire young people through sports, the Olympic Committees of the Baltic States emphasize that “the credibility of Olympism is closely related to the consistent defense of peace, human dignity and respect for international law”.

The Olympic Committees of the Baltic States point out that political neutrality should in no case replace moral responsibility.

Also, in the letter, the committees of the Baltic States called on the IOC to maintain and strictly apply the existing restrictions, which forbid athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete with national symbols, to guarantee protection for those who refuse to compete with representatives of aggressor countries, as well as to pay closer attention to neutral athletes and how this status is obtained.