It will soon be 10 months since the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes from competition in sports arenas. It was the result of an armed attack Russia in Ukraine, which took place on 24 February. As assured by the members of the IOC, this is not a punishment, but only a protective measure. Soon it could be abolished and Russia and Belarus will return to competition.
OCA makes a proposal and Thomas Bach expresses his gratitude. Is Russia’s return to sport getting closer?
During the 11th Olympic Summit, Randhir Singh, president of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Asia (OCA), proposed an initiative to help Russia and Belarus. The federation offered to facilitate the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in international competitions held in Asia under their auspices. According to Singh, there is no reason to continue to apply such a tough policy towards Russian and Belarusian sports.
“The President of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) hailed the OCA’s initiative as an important step towards restoring the unity of the 206 National Olympic Committees,” the official IOC website reads.
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While the IOC is still exploring this possibility, Thomas Bach expressed his great gratitude to the OCA President for an initiative that could facilitate the resolution of the great dilemma of the IOC, which is the separation of sport from politics and “the mission of ‘unite the world in peaceful competition.’ “At the summit, there was an intense debate about the participation of athletes from Russia and Belarus in international competitions. The Olympic Movement had to take protective measures by not inviting athletes from these committees to the competition” , we read in the official press release.
Germany opposes this idea. And France? Neither does France…
However, not all National Committees are in favor of the OCA President’s proposal. They oppose it.others. Germany. – sport must remain consistent in its condemnation of this inhumane war, said Nancy Faeser, German Interior Minister, adding that “now is not the time to invite Putin’s Russia to major international sporting events”. French President Emmanuel Macron takes a different view and believes that sport should remain neutral.
So far, the IOC has not taken an official decision or imposed any sanctions, but it is consulting with national committees. If it turned out that the IOC would allow Russians and Belarusians to participate in international competitions, each federation would have the right to decide whether sports there is a reason for the suspension.
