Asked to comment on the Russian president’s statement made in mid-December considering that the IOC risked “burying the Olympic movement” by requiring Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate under a neutral banner in the Paris Olympics, Amélie Oudea-Castéra retorted: ” we don’t care what he thinks.”
“We don’t care what Putin thinks” and these are the IOC rules which will apply to Russian athletes during the Paris Olympic Games in 2024, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, the French Minister of Sports, said on France 2 on Wednesday. Asked to comment on the Russian president’s statement made in mid-December considering that the IOC risked “burying the Olympic movement” by requiring Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate under a neutral banner in the Paris Olympics, Amélie Oudea-Castéra retorted: ” we don’t care what he thinks.”
“There are rules set by the IOC, it is the IOC which has the authority to decide who participates, who does not participate,” she said. “We must establish this framework and ensure that it is respected to the end, and do everything so that the Russian power does not exploit sport for its own glory,” she said. “These are provocative messages. We also heard him talk about ‘ethnic discrimination’, all of which is nonsense,” she added.
Russia denounces “neutralization” campaign
In December, the International Olympic Committee authorized Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris (July 26-August 11), under several conditions: under a neutral barrier, excluding team events, if they have not actively supported the Russian offensive in Ukraine and whether they cleared the qualifying hurdle. Russia has denounced a “neutralization” campaign targeting its best athletes, whose participation in the 2024 Olympics under a neutral banner is compromised by “humiliating” criteria from the IOC. According to the IOC, 11 athletes meet the criteria for the moment, eight Russians and three Belarusians, against around sixty Ukrainians.
Could an athlete brandish a Russian flag during an Olympic event and defy the ban? “He will not do it, it will not be possible for him to arrive on the + field of play + (pitch, editor’s note) with a flag,” assured the Minister of Sports and the Olympics.