The International Olympic Committee (IOC) rejected this Friday the accusations of “ethnic discrimination” made by the president of Russiain relation to the restrictions that should be imposed on the Participation of Russian athletes in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games..
“We firmly reject accusations of ethnic discrimination,” says an IOC spokesperson, in a message sent to the AFP news agency, adding: “Participation in the Games is in no way a human right.”
The IOC recalls that, after Russia and Belarus were excluded from several sporting events since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Some individual athletes have been allowed to compete.under certain conditions, namely, to appear under neutral flag.
On Thursday, Vladimir Putin accused the IOC of “ethnic discrimination” in relation to Russian athletes, who should be allowed to participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics under a neutral flag, due to the military attack on Ukraine.
“Thanks to some IOC leaders, we learned that the Games themselves can be used as instrument of political pressure against people who have nothing to do with politics, in fact, like ethnic-racial discrimination instrument”said Vladimir Putin in a speech dedicated to sports, in Perm, in the Russian region of the Ural Mountains.
The IOC has not yet announced a decision on the participation of Russian athletes, under a neutral flag, in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, but last week it suspended the Russian Olympic Committee, which had decided to unilaterally integrate regional sports associations of Ukrainian territories.
On October 5, the Russian Olympic Committee decided to unilaterally integrate as members the regional sports organizations under the authority of the Ukrainian Committee, specifically Zaporizhia, Donetsk, Luhansk and Kherson.
According to the IOC, the decision to unilaterally integrate as members regional sports organizations that are under the authority of the Ukrainian committee “constitutes a violation of the Olympic Charter, because it does not respect the territorial integrity of the Ukrainian national committee.”
The Russian Olympic Committee Therefore, it can no longer function as a national committee. and receive funds from the Olympic movement.
Last September, French President Emmanuel Macron rejected the possibility of having a Russian flag at the 2024 Paris Olympics, due to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, pointing to “war crimes” committed by the Putin regime, sending a decision on Russia’s participation. athletes at the event.
Source: TSF
