“Government punishes athletes”
IOC boss Bach accuses Ukraine of fighting Russia
6/22/2023, 3:41 p.m
The German IOC President Thomas Bach evokes the unifying power of sport. That’s why he’s now accusing Ukraine of not wanting to let its athletes compete in competitions where Russia is represented. In his all-round attack, the former fencer also deals against Poland.
President Thomas Bach vigorously defended the course of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on the Russia-Ukraine question and expressed incomprehension for the actions of the Ukrainian government. “Many Ukrainians would have liked to compete internationally, but many were absent because they were not allowed by the Ukrainian Ministry of Sport,” Bach accused during the 140th IOC session. The Ukrainian athletes are “punished by their own government for the war instigated by the Russian and Belarusian governments”.
The government of the country that was attacked in 2022 ordered its athletes on March 31 of this year to boycott competitions in which athletes from Russia and Belarus take part under neutral status. Three days earlier, the IOC had opened the door for these athletes to return to world sport through a recommendation to the professional associations. A massively criticized decision because, in the opinion of many, the IOC is preparing a propaganda stage for Russia and its President Vladimir Putin.
In his more than 20-minute speech on the “topic that has unfortunately been at the top of our agenda for the past 16 months,” Bach accused several governments of undermining the values of sport through their positioning. “The Russian side wants us to ignore the war. Ukraine wants us to isolate everyone with a Russian or Belarusian passport,” the 69-year-old complained. “Both positions are diametrically opposed to our mandate and the Olympic Charter.”
In the same debate, the head of the Russian wrestling federation had recently drastically threatened tanks. “If they want to see us as a team of refugees at the Olympic Games, then we have to go to Paris on tanks,” Mikhail Mamiashvili said in an interview. So far no statements by Bach are known about this.
Olympic boycott is in the room
Instead, he attacked the Polish government for interfering in the “autonomy of sport”, which ultimately led to the European Individual Fencing Championships being moved to Bulgaria. There are no entry restrictions for Russians and Belarusians, unlike at the European Games in Kraków, which began on Thursday, where the European Championships in fencing are now taking place.
From his point of view, the competitions in which there were no restrictions would have worked best. “None of these competitions descended into chaos,” said Bach. For the 1976 fencing Olympic champion, there is only one direction at a time when there are no easy answers: “Contribute to peace through the unifying function of sport. Our values are our compass.”
However, the IOC has still not made a decision on the admission of Russians and Belarusians to the Summer Olympics in Paris 2024. Ukraine is also threatening a boycott if Russia and Belarus are also allowed to be represented there. A decision about the Olympic starting permission should only be made later.