The British government has urged Olympic sponsors to support the ongoing ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes for next year’s Paris Olympic Games.
Culture Secretary Lucy Fraser has written to the UK chief executives of the IOC’s 13 global partners, including Coca-Cola, Intel, Samsung and Visa, to press the IOC to come up with details on what ‘track’ they are considering. Russians and Belarusians will be allowed to compete as neutrals.
The Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee recommended that athletes from these two countries be excluded from international sporting events last February, shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
However, IOC President Thomas Bach insists these were measures designed to “protect” these athletes and now says athletes should not be discriminated against because of the passport they hold.
The UK is one of 35 countries, including the US and host France, who have demanded clarification from the IOC on the exact terms of neutrality.
Fraser wrote: “We know that sport and politics in Russia and Belarus are deeply intertwined and we are determined to prevent the regimes in Russia and Belarus from using sport for propaganda purposes.
Until our concerns and significant lack of clarity and concrete detail about a viable model of ‘neutrality’ are addressed, we do not agree that Russian and Belarusian athletes should be allowed to return to competition.
“With reference to the IOC’s stated position that no final decision has been made, we strongly urge the IOC to address the issues identified by all countries and to reconsider their proposed settlement.
“As an Olympic partner, I welcome your views on this matter and ask you to join us in pressing the IOC to address the concerns raised in our statement.”
The UK government believes that the situation in Ukraine has deteriorated since the IOC adopted its initial position of excluding Russia and Belarus and that as long as Russian President Vladimir Putin continues his invasion, athletes from those countries will not be able to compete.
The International Olympic Committee responded to the letter by saying that there was no place for government interference in sport.
In a statement to the Palestinian Authority News Agency, an IOC spokesperson said: “The IOC has taken note of the letter. It is not for governments to decide which athletes can participate in international competitions. It will be the end of world sport as we know it today.”
“We very much hope that the British government will respect the autonomy of sport which it has affirmed in numerous UN resolutions, declarations and resolutions…
“What is being discussed in the Olympic movement now is no more than what is already happening in many international sports. Last weekend we saw a Ukrainian player win the WTA tournament in Austin/Texas in a final against a player with a Russian passport.
In this context, we are following with great interest the discussion about the participation of players with Russian and Belarusian passports in Wimbledon.
“In accordance with the way sport is organized around the world and the Olympic Charter, it should be the sole responsibility of sports organizations to decide which athletes can participate in international competitions based solely on their sport merit.
“According to this, Olympic sponsors are not involved in this decision-making process.”
