IOC Defends Provisional Russian Committee Reinstatement

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has defended its decision to provisionally lift the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) after nine European Union member states called on Brussels to stop funding sports bodies that have readmitted Russian and Belarusian athletes.

In a letter to European sports commissioner Glenn Micallef, Estonia, Denmark, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Sweden urged the EU to halt funding for organizations, including the IOC, that have allowed Russian and Belarusian athletes to return to competition.

An IOC spokesperson said the ROC’s suspension, imposed in October 2023, was lifted earlier this month after the organization removed regional sports bodies from occupied Ukrainian territories from its membership. Their admission had been the reason for the original suspension.

The IOC stressed that the decision was provisional and did not signal a broader change in its position toward Russia. It will continue not to hold events in the country or invite Russian government officials to its events. No decision has yet been made on the use of Russian flags, colors or the national anthem at future Olympics.

The nine countries argued that allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete overlooked the hardships faced by Ukrainian athletes, many of whom have been displaced, lost access to training facilities or joined the military.

They said respect for human rights, the rule of law and peaceful relations between nations were fundamental principles of international sport, adding that claims that sport could be separated from politics were difficult to sustain given the human toll of the war.

(Reuters, Max)