According to the president of Ukraine, the head of the IOC could not explain how to protect the sport from “war propaganda” by allowing athletes from the Russian Federation and Belarus to participate in competitions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded to the call of the President of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, regarding the admission of Russian and Belarusian athletes to the 2024 Olympics to be held in Paris. The Ukrainian leader said that there can be no talk of neutrality during the war.
Zelensky noted that dictators often try to use sports to support their ideology, adding that the neutral flag of Russian athletes is “bloodstained”.
The President also expressed disappointment with the position of the IOC president, noting that he had not heard from him how he would protect the sport from “war propaganda” if Russian representatives were allowed to participate in Olympic competitions.
“We will do everything for the world to protect the sport from the political and other influences of a terrorist state, which is inevitable if Russian athletes compete,” Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian leader also mentioned that hundreds of Ukrainian and Ukrainian women who could contribute to world sports lost their lives in the war launched by the Russian Federation against Ukraine.
“I invite Mr. Bach to Bakhmut to see for himself that impartiality does not exist,” concluded Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Position of the IOC in relation to athletes from the Russian Federation
In November last year, the head of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, urged the leaders of the G20 countries to reconsider their decision to exclude Russian athletes from international competitions. Bach said that sport should not be made a political tool and urged G20 heads to be “politically neutral” on this issue.
“Unlike many other wars and conflicts in our world, in relation to this war, some governments have begun to decide which athletes should be allowed to participate in international sports competitions,” the IOC president said.
On January 25, Thomas Bach proposed that athletes from Russia and Belarus be allowed to participate in the 2024 Olympics in Paris, even if the war in Ukraine continues.
The US Olympic Committee stated that Russian and Belarusian athletes can be admitted to the upcoming Olympic Games without the use of their country’s flags and other symbols.
Ukraine’s reaction to the Olympic Committee’s statement
Ukraine’s National Olympic Committee President Vadim Gutzeit said that Ukraine could boycott the 2024 Olympics in Paris if the International Olympic Committee allows Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete. Gutzeit wrote this on his Facebook page on January 26.
The head of the Ukrainian NOC said, “This is a matter of principle for the entire Ukrainian sports community! Both the head of our state and the whole society support us in this.”
Previously Focus He also wrote that at the Australian Tennis Championships in Melbourne, one of the pro-Russian fans appeared in the arena in a T-shirt with the “Z” symbol and other fans brought banned Russian flags at the event, one of which depicted Vladimir. Putin.
Source: Focus
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