Athletics: UK, 30 others vow support for ban on Russian, Belarusian athletes
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The IOC has said a boycott will violate the Olympic Charter.
PHOTO: AFP
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LONDON – More than 30 countries, including the United States, Britain and France, on Monday pledged their support for banning Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing in international events, said the British government.
The move increases the pressure on the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which is keen to avoid the 2024 Paris Olympics being torn asunder by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Monday’s statement follows recent proposals from the IOC which suggest a pathway is being explored to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to return to competition as neutrals, including at the Paris Games.
“There are serious concerns about how feasible it is for Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete on a neutral basis given they are directly funded and supported by their states,” said the British government statement.
“The strong links and affiliations between Russian athletes and the Russian military are also of clear concern. As long as a workable ‘neutrality’ model is not set out in detail, Russian and Belarusian athletes should not be allowed back into competition.
“The IOC must address the questions identified by all countries and reconsider its proposal.”
The Australian government said on Tuesday it was aligned with the nations on the call for the ban, despite not being marked as a signatory to the statement.
A spokesman for the Australian Sports Ministry said the country’s absence was an administrative error and that the government was in accord with the sentiments expressed in the statement.
Paris 2024 organisers insisted at the beginning of February that they would abide by the IOC decision on Russian and Belarusian athletes’ participation. However, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo also said there should be no Russian delegation at the Olympics as long as the Ukraine war is ongoing.
Ukraine has threatened to boycott the Games if Russian and Belarusian athletes compete, and Ukrainian world and 2012 Olympic heavyweight champion boxer Oleksandr Usyk has said Russians will win “medals of blood, deaths and tears” if allowed to take part.
Such threats have revived memories of boycotts in the 1970s and 1980s during the Cold War era that still haunt the global Olympic body today, and it has called on Ukraine to drop them.
The IOC has said a boycott would violate the Olympic Charter and its inclusion of Russians and Belarusians is based on a UN resolution against discrimination within the Olympic movement.
Since the invasion of Ukraine, many sports bodies have moved events and suspended Russian and Belarusian teams or athletes, while sponsors have ended contracts in protest against the war.
Russia’s gymnastics and wrestling federations however, said last week they had been invited to take part in September’s Asian Games in China.
The British government added on Monday that Russia and Belarus can “pave the way for their athletes’ full return to the international sports community by ending the war they started”.
Earlier in February, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky took part in an online meeting attended by 35 ministers and chaired by Britain to discuss the call for a ban. He pointed out that 228 Ukrainian athletes and coaches died as a result of the Russian aggression. REUTERS, AFP
