IOC calls for ban on Russians, Belarusians

| March 1, 2022

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has recommended that athletes from Russia and Belarus should not be allowed to compete in international sports events, and is stripping Russian President Vladimir Putin of the Olympic Order.

The IOC said the measure by its executive board in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was taken “after the breach of the Olympic Truce by the Russian government and the government of Belarus through its support in this.”

A statement published on Monday afternoon recommended Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials should be barred by international sports federations and event organisers “in order to protect the integrity of global sports competitions and for the safety of all the participants”.

It added that wherever this was not possible for organisational or legal reasons, such athletes should not compete under the name Russia or Belarus and should be classed as neutrals.

It said it would be unfair to Ukrainian athletes who cannot compete if those from Russia and Belarus could continue. 

The statement added: “Wherever, in very extreme circumstances, even this is not possible on short notice for organisational or legal reasons, the IOC EB leaves it to the relevant organisation to find its own way to effectively address the dilemma described above.

“In this context, the IOC EB considered in particular the upcoming Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 and reiterated its full support for the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the Games.”

The IOC statement also said that Putin, deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko and deputy chief of staff of the presidential executive 0ffice Dmitry Kozak are stripped of the Olympic order “based on the exceptional circumstances of the situation and considering the extremely grave violation of the Olympic Truce and other violations of the Olympic Charter by the Russian government in the past.”