The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has come under heavy fire of late as it pushes for a route to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in international events and ultimately the 2024 Olympic Games under a neutral flag.
On Monday, a letter signed by the governments of 35 nations was released calling on the IOC to either clarify the definition of “neutrality” and come up with a “workable” plan for the athletes to compete as neutrals or to ban them from competing altogether.
Update: Australia was initially missing as one of the nations that signed the agreement in this article, but they were reportedly the 35th government to sign.
“As long as these fundamental issues and the substantial lack of clarity and concrete detail on a workable `neutrality’ model are not addressed, we do not agree that Russian and Belarusian athletes should be allowed back into competition,” the statement reads.
Among those signing the statement were officials from the United States, Great Britain, France, Canada and Germany. Those five countries combined to bring nearly one-fifth of all athletes to the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021. It was also signed by Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, the Minister of Sports and the Olympic and Paralympic Games in France.
The letter did not go as far as to mention a boycott if Russians and Belarusians end up being eligible to compete, though a few nations that have threatened that one could be possible, including Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Denmark, also signed on.
- Full list of countries that signed: Australia Austria, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United States.
The government officials also noted how closely intertwined politics and sports are in Russia and Belarus and how that further complicates any justifiable path for them to be able to compete.
“We have strong concerns on how feasible it is for Russian and Belarusian Olympic athletes to compete as `neutrals’ – under the IOC’s conditions of no identification with their country – when they are directly funded and supported by their states (unlike, for example, professional tennis players),” the letter said.
“The strong links and affiliations between Russian athletes and the Russian military are also of clear concern. Our collective approach throughout has therefore never been one of discrimination simply on the basis of nationality, but these strong concerns need to be dealt with by the IOC.”
The letter came to fruition following a Feb. 10 summit in London between government leaders who heard from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who remained adamant that Russian and Belarusian athletes had no place at the Games as long as the invasion continues.
“While Russia kills and terrorizes, representatives of the terrorist state have no place at sports and Olympic competitions,” Zelenskyy told the summit, according to a transcript issued by his office.
“And it cannot be covered up with some pretended neutrality or a white flag. Because Russia is now a country that stains everything with blood — even the white flag. It must be recognized. And this must be recognized, in particular, at the level of the International Olympic Committee,” Zelenskyy said. “The International Olympic Committee needs honesty. Honesty it has unfortunately lost. Honesty that will help stop Russian terror and bring peace closer.”
The IOC is trying to find a way to allow Russians into the Olympics, noting the opinion of United Nations human rights experts who believe Russians and Belarusians should not face discrimination simply for the passports they hold.
IOC President Thomas Bach has said that the IOC stood in solidarity with Ukraine’s athletes while also mentioning that sports have to respect the human rights of all athletes.
“History will show who is doing more for peace. The ones who try to keep lines open, to communicate, or the ones who want to isolate or divide,” Bach said.
Recently, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) invited Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in this year’s Asian Games as a way for them to qualify for the Olympics.
The IOC issued the following statement Tuesday:
“The IOC appreciates the constructive questions with regard to the definition of the neutrality of athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport, while noting that the explicit human rights concerns expressed by two special rapporteurs of the United Nations Human Rights Council have not been addressed in the statement.”
Monday’s letter signed by the 35 nations said the quickest way for Russia to get back on the international sports scene would be “by ending the war they started.”
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT CONDEMNS IOC
In addition to the letter calling on the IOC to clarify what consists of an athlete competing under a neutral flag, the European Parliament has also come out with harsh criticism against the committee on its plan to allow Russians and Belarusians to compete.
Representing 27 nations, the European Parliament issued a 31-point resolution on Feb. 16 that included their view on the war and a condemnation of the IOC’s efforts in reintegrating Russia into the sports world.
The parliament specifically called out the IOC on one of its points, saying the decision to allow athletes to compete as neutrals “runs counter to those countries’ multifaceted isolation and will be used by both regimes for propaganda purposes.”
The parliament called on the 27 member states to pressure the IOC to reverse its decision and said the Olympic body’s approach was “an embarrassment to the international world of sport.”
The IOC is doing Avery very poor job of reading the room on this one. Having Russians in Paris will cause them much more trouble than blocking them.
I don’t know if Avery was an autocorrect or a pun…but either way..bravo well done.
https://www.infobae.com/aroundtherings/articles/2021/07/12/the-difficult-legacy-of-ioc-president-avery-brundage/
No Hungary in this list. It says a lot about where this nation is heading now.
Bach will never let go of not being allowed to compete in Moscow in 1980.
Thought the # would be higher. Usually, roughly 190-200 countries participate in the summer Olympic Games. I would’ve expected at least 50% to sign.
Watch FINA stutter embarrassingly though 2023 trying to sit on the fence. They need to proactively act on Russian aggression!!!!!!
I am so disappointed by Australia sitting on the fence all the time. They need to sign up to this and demand Russia is excluded.
Me too!
Australia was the 35th nation to sign according to reports – article updated.
Thank you and that is good news
Is there a way members of the aquatics community could let FINA and/or the IOC know that we don’t want out athletes competing against Russians? Any ideas?
We saw how well “neutral” flag worked during Australian Open tennis tournament.
Sabalenka winning the title? That was Wimbledon’s biggest nightmare that royal family members would need to present trophy to athlete from Russia or Belarus.