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IOC wants to ban Russian, Belarusian athletes

UEFA and FIFA ban Russian teams from participating in all international tournaments. The Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) discussed on Monday the dilemma that the Olympic Movement is currently facing after the breach of the Olympic Truce by the Russian government and the government of Belarus through, even as football bodies […]

UEFA and FIFA ban Russian teams from participating in all international tournaments.

The Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) discussed on Monday the dilemma that the Olympic Movement is currently facing after the breach of the Olympic Truce by the Russian government and the government of Belarus through, even as football bodies UEFA, FIFA suspended both Russian clubs and national team from all international competitions.

In order to protect the integrity of global sports competitions and for the safety of all the participants, the IOC EB recommended that the International Sports Federations and sports event organisers not invite or allow the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials in international competitions. “Wherever this is not possible on short notice for organisational or legal reasons, the IOC EB strongly urges International Sports Federations and organisers of sports events worldwide to do everything in their power to ensure that no athlete or sports official from Russia or Belarus be allowed to take part under the name of Russia or Belarus. Russian or Belarusian nationals, be it as individuals or teams, should be accepted only as neutral athletes or neutral teams. No national symbols, colours, flags or anthems should be displayed,” IOC in a statement said.

“The current war in Ukraine, however, puts the Olympic Movement in a dilemma. While athletes from Russia and Belarus would be able to continue to participate in sports events, many athletes from Ukraine are prevented from doing so because of the attack on their country,” IOC added.

In this context, the IOC EB considered in particular the upcoming Paralympic Winter Games in Beijing 2022 and reiterated its full support for the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the Games. The IOC EB maintained its urgent recommendation not to organise any sports event in Russia or Belarus, issued on 25 February 2022.

Meanwhile, football bodies FIFA and UEFA on Monday decided together that all Russian teams, whether national representative teams or club teams, shall be suspended from participation in both FIFA and UEFA competitions until further notice.

These decisions were adopted by the Bureau of the FIFA Council and the Executive Committee of UEFA, respectively the highest decision-making bodies of both institutions on such urgent matters.

“Football is fully united here and in full solidarity with all the people affected in Ukraine. Both Presidents hope that the situation in Ukraine will improve significantly and rapidly so that football can again be a vector for unity and peace amongst people,” the joint statement by UEFA and FIFA added.

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