Criticism of IOC announcement
Russian athletes to take part in Asian Games
01/26/2023 1:39 p.m
The ban on Russian athletes from world sports is being relaxed. In autumn, the athletes are to take part in a major competition again. Criticism comes from Europe, the German association is undecided.
The return of Russian and Belarusian athletes to world sport is becoming more concrete – and should take place in Asia as planned. The day after the IOC announced that the ban would be lifted, the Association of National Olympic Committees from Asia also spoke out in favor of reintegrating the sanctioned athletes.
“All athletes, regardless of nationality or passport, should be able to participate in sports competitions,” the Asian Olympic Council (OCA) said in a statement. This means that the athletes from Russia and Belarus, who have been excluded by the war of aggression against Ukraine, could start at the Asian Games in autumn (September 23rd to October 8th). On Wednesday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) opened the door to return and, after an executive meeting, spoke of an “overwhelming majority” for admission under “strict conditions”.
This included the start as neutral athletes without a flag, anthems and colors as well as a “clear commitment” to the Olympic Charter. Accordingly, “only those who have not violated the IOC’s peacekeeping mission by actively supporting the war in Ukraine” are allowed to participate. Government or state officials of either country should not receive any invitation or accreditation.
DOSB speaks of “dilemma”
Since autumn, IOC President Thomas Bach has also been publicly looking for a way to enable athletes from Russia and Belarus to take part in international competitions with a view to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. The NOK’s from Asia had already offered their support in December, and the US committee is also open to Bach’s plans.
There is resistance to the easing of sanctions, which the IOC recommended to the international associations after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, from European NOCs, especially from Scandinavia and the Baltic States. The German Olympic Sports Confederation had described the reintegration as “inconceivable” at the end of 2022, but recently spoke of a “dilemma” in which world sport is now. “We argue that at some point you have to meet again in peaceful competition because it is in the nature of sport to unite, not to divide,” the DOSB told the Wall Street Journal.
In December, in an exchange with Bach and on Tuesday in a conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron, the Ukrainian President Zelenskyy energetically called for the exclusion of Russian athletes from the 2024 Summer Games. Interest groups such as Ukrainian Athletes, Global Athlete and Athlete Germany also criticize the efforts of the IOC.