Kiev 'gone too far' with banning contest against Russian athletes: IOC

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News Agencies
22 Apr 2023 22:39

The Olympic official also described this as "unfortunate" and expressed his wishes that the IOC Executive Board would attend to this.

Headquarters of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), in Lausanne, Switzerland, September 8, 2022 (AP)

Director of Olympic Solidarity and National Olympic Committees Relations at International Olympic Committee (IOC) James Macleod described Ukraine's decision forcing their national athletes to boycott competitions with Russian and Belarusian athletes as having "gone too far," stressing that governments should not prevent their national athletes from competing in international tournaments.

"They [Ukraine] have gone so far as to prohibit their own athletes from competing in events in which there could be neutral athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport … That obviously for us is a step too far because athletes must be at the center of all of our deliberations and we don’t believe that Governments decisions whether it is the Ukrainian Government or the Russian Government or any Government should have an impact on the athletes ability to access international competitions or funding," Macleod was quoted by the Inside the Games portal.

The Olympic official also described this as "unfortunate" and expressed his wishes that the IOC Executive Board would attend to this.

Read more: UK against reintegration of Russia, Belarus athletes at Paris Olympics

Back in early April, the Head of the Ukrainian President’s office Andrie Yermak urged the President of the International Gymnastics Federation President Morinari Watanabe to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from the upcoming 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) stated on 28 March, recommending that international sports federations allow Russian athletes to compete as neutrals provided they denounce the Russian “War” on Ukraine.

In a statement, Yermak said that he, "held a meeting with International Gymnastics Federation President Morinari Watanabe… Called on Morinari Watanabe to support the initiative to ban the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the 2024 Olympics.”