In response to their aggression in Ukraine, both Russia and Belarus have been subject to severe sanctions from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), with their respective athletes being prohibited from competing under their respective flags or wearing any associated national insignia.
Furthermore, the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) was also immediately banned by the IOC after it recognized Olympic Councils from the regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia, which were all located in Ukraine.
“This constitutes a breach of the Olympic Charter because it violates the territorial integrity of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, as recognized by the IOC in accordance with the Olympic Charter,” the IOC spokesperson said.
IOC’s double standard?
Following the sanctions imposed on the Russian and Belarusian athletes, the Committee was asked whether the same treatment would be applied to Israeli athletes, to which their spokesperson replied that their athletes should not be held responsible for the decisions of their government.
Via Deseret News: “The IOC is committed to the concept of individual responsibility and athletes cannot be held responsible for the actions of their governments,” an IOC spokesperson told the German news agency Deutche Presse-Agentur (DPA).
“If discriminatory behavior by an athlete or an official occurs, the IOC works with the National Olympic Committee and the International Federation concerned to ensure that swift action is taken, as during the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020,” the spokesperson added.
After catching wind of the IOC’s statement, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov denounced the organization, calling them ‘biased’ and ‘shameful’.
Via ESPN: “This, of course, is outrageous. Once again we see an example of the bias and failure of the International Olympic Committee, which time after time proves its political bias,” Lavrov said.
Furthermore, Lavrov noted that the IOC is aligned with the interests of Western countries, particularly the United States.
“Everything that is responsible interests of Western countries, primarily the United States, it actively supports and tries to find formulations that will generally approve of this line. Shameful and of course, the IOC greatly discredited itself,” he added.
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