International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach reaffirmed his position that the path should be opened for Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics, saying, “Politics and sports must be separated먹튀검증“
Bach said at a political forum held in Essen, Germany on the 23rd (local time), CNN reported that “If politics decides who participates in competitions, sports and athletes will be reduced to tools of politics.”
“Then it becomes impossible for sport to exert its uniting power. We must be politically neutral, but not apolitical,” said Bach.
“We know very well that politics rules the world. We also know that our decisions have political meaning and that our thoughts must be reflected in them,” he said. We must not make the mistake of raising ourselves as judges of our own political disputes.”
Ukraine has consistently urged Russia, which committed a war of aggression, and Belarusian players who sympathized with it to be banned from participating in international competitions.
However, Bach said the request was a “dilemma” and “a completely new situation.” “If we exclude players for political reasons, the international sports system will decline,” he said.
However, on January 25, the IOC opened the way for them to participate in a neutral position rather than representing Russia and Belarus. However, it said that it would continue to disallow players who are deemed to have “actively supported the war.”
More than 30 countries, including the United States, criticized the decision, and Ukraine protested, saying that it would not rule out a boycott of the Olympics if Russian and Belarusian athletes participate.
The IOC Executive Committee will discuss the issue of allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to return to participate in international competitions on the 28th. Under the current stance, individual athletes from Russia and Belarus will be able to participate in the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics and Milan 2026 Winter Olympics as neutral countries.