Because of the boycott threat
Angry IOC sends explicit letter to Ukraine
2/9/2023 7:04 p.m
The IOC responds to the threat of an Olympic boycott in a letter to the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine. The umbrella organization condemns the procedure and is also trying to clarify several things about the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has again criticized Ukraine’s threat of an Olympic boycott, calling it “premature”. Participation of neutral athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris has not yet been specifically discussed, it said in a five-page letter to Sports Minister and NOK boss Wadym Hutzajt, signed by IOC President Thomas Bach and the German Press Agency is available. “That’s why your letter to the NOK’s, the international federations, IOC members and future Olympic hosts at this premature stage was perceived by the vast majority as an attempt to influence opinion-forming through public pressure and at least extremely regrettable,” it said the writing.
A boycott threat, such as that considered by Ukraine’s National Olympic Committee, would go against the very foundations of the Olympic Movement and the principles it stands for, it said. Bach repeatedly reminded that Ukraine received no support or solidarity for this from the vast majority of Olympic interest groups. “And as history has shown, previous boycotts have not achieved the political goals and only served to punish the athletes of the boycotting NOK’s.”
No place for war supporters
The IOC once again made it clear that even under a neutral flag, no athletes from Russia or Belarus who supported the war against Ukraine were allowed to start. Furthermore, no flags, national symbols or signs supporting the war may be displayed at competition sites. In addition, members of the government or state officials from both countries should not be invited to sporting events. The Australian Open, where the Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka won under a neutral flag, was given as an example of how athletes from Russia or Belarus could take part in competitions in the future.
The IOC had recently triggered a controversy with the announcement that it wanted to give athletes from Russia and Belarus the opportunity to participate in international competitions despite the war in Ukraine. This could also open the way for these athletes to the games in Paris, albeit only under a neutral flag. Ukraine had sharply criticized this and threatened a boycott.
The Ukrainian NOK decided last Friday to prevent the Russians and Belarusians from starting in the Olympics. “We have a great wish not to see them as long as the war does not end with our victory,” Hutzajt said. And further: “If we all work (hard) on it and do everything for it, but we don’t succeed, then – that’s just my personal opinion – the Olympic Games must be boycotted.”