The governments of the states did not understand by what principle the neutrality of the aggressor nations was to be determined.
The International Olympic Committee should not allow athletes from aggressor countries into the 2024 Olympics. In such an appeal to the IOC, the governments of about 30 countries, including the host of the future Games, France.
According to the publication Politico, the governments of the states do not understand by what criteria the IOC will determine the “neutrality” of Russian and Belarusian athletes.
“While the main issues and the lack of clarity and certainty on the issue of the operation of the “neutrality” model have not yet been determined, we do not agree that Russian and Belarusian athletes should be returned to the competition,” the letter to the IOC said.
At the same time, the full list of countries was not called, but among those who signed the letter were representatives of the United States, Great Britain, France, Germany, Canada, Poland, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania.
The statement also states that “in Russia and Belarus, sport and politics are closely intertwined.” And as long as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s brutality in Ukraine continues, “there is no practical reason to depart from the regime of exclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes established by the IOC in its statement of February 28, 2022.”
“We have serious doubts about how realistic it is for Russian and Belarusian Olympic athletes to compete under a neutral flag – in terms of the IOC’s lack of identification with their country – when they are directly funded and supported by their states, unlike, for example, professional tennis players” .
“The strong ties and affiliation of Russian athletes with the Russian military is also an obvious concern. Therefore, our collective approach has never been to discriminate based on nationality alone, but these serious concerns must be taken into account- on behalf of the IOC,” the appeal said.
It will be remembered that the IOC said earlier that it will study the possibility of allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in Paris under a neutral flag. This caused outrage in Kyiv, and has now received a concrete response from Ukraine’s allies.
In turn, the legendary Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko said that the IOC President represents the interests of Russia.
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Source: korrespondent
I’m Todderic Kirkman, a journalist and author for athletistic. I specialize in covering all news related to sports, ranging from basketball to football and everything in between. With over 10 years of experience in the industry, I have become an invaluable asset to my team. My ambition is to bring the most up-to-date information on sports topics around the world.
