The efforts of the IOC to attract Russian and Belarusian athletes are not only displeasing to Ukraine. The European Union is now also sharply criticizing the demand made by IOC President Thomas Bach. The participation of activists from both countries runs counter to “the multi-faceted isolation”.
The European Union (EU) has condemned the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for exploring ways for Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. A corresponding resolution was adopted with 444 votes in favour, 26 against and 37 abstentions. This is reported by the industry service insidethegames.biz.
The motion noted that participation by activists from the two countries, whether neutral or not, “contradicts the multi-faceted isolation of these countries and is used by both regimes for propaganda purposes.” The resolution marks the upcoming one-year anniversary of the war that began with the invasion of Russia on February 24, 2022. The 27 member states are urged to pressure the IOC to reverse its decision, which has been described as “an embarrassment for the international sporting world”.
During his trip to Germany at the end of January, President Thomas Bach defended the IOC plans, arguing with the human rights requirements of the Olympic Charter and the United Nations. Excluding athletes “because of their passport” violates the principles. Bach relied on an “overwhelming majority” that he identified in the Olympic movement after “consultation talks”. At the end of February 2022, the IOC recommended that international federations exclude athletes from Russia and Belarus from competitions.
The Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba again criticized the IOC and Thomas Bach personally for this change of course. “The hypocrisy of the IOC President and the committee is just pathetic,” Kuleba said. “A country that commits an aggression that has been condemned by a large majority of the UN General Assembly loses the right to participate in the Olympic Games. This also applies to all athletes,” said Kuleba.
Former boxer Wladimir Klitschko had previously sharply criticized Bach in an interview with the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung”. He “unfortunately does not represent the Olympic values, but the aggressor. He supports the propaganda,” said Klitschko. “It can’t be that the free world is being told over and over again, ‘But what have the athletes got to do with it?’ It has everything to do with each other. Sport has a lot to do with the war,” said Klitschko.
