/ world today news/ Russia reacted emotionally to the decision of the IOC to limit the admission of athletes from the Russian Federation to the Olympics in Paris. The message is one: participating in competitions under the control of Ukraine is humiliating. Experts warn that any medal won will be devalued and Russian athletes will have to perform under conditions of harassment. Furthermore, participating under a neutral flag does not strengthen Russia as an alternative pole of power capable of transforming the Olympic movement.
Presenting international tournaments without a flag and anthem is a humiliation for athletes, and officials calling for the removal of national symbols should not exist in sports. This was announced by the head of the International Boxing Association Umar Kremlov on Saturday at a meeting of the congress of the organization. “To perform without a flag and an anthem is a humiliation for an athlete, this should not happen,” Kremlov said.
He explained that Russian athletes should not agree to participate in the Olympics under the terms of the International Olympic Committee. “How many people are going to the games now, eight? I recommend not humiliating yourself. How can you abandon your country? It’s like abandoning your own mother,” Kremlov said.
The general secretary of the Russian Boxing Federation, Tatyana Kiriyenko, is of the same opinion. “The decision is just unpleasant, it is demeaning. The boxers have announced that they will not compete in a neutral status,” she said.
On Friday, the IOC allowed the Russians to participate in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris in a neutral status and under several conditions. Russians and Belarusians will not be allowed to participate in all team competitions. Participation is denied to those who actively support military action or are associated with the military or security forces. All officials are denied accreditation, the display of Russian and Belarusian symbols is prohibited.
The Russians and Belarusians have been banned from international competition since the start of the World Cup in 2022. But in March this year, the IOC issued its first set of recommendations to international sports federations, allowing athletes to return to competition under certain conditions. Of the 4,600 athletes from around the world who have qualified for the Paris Games, which open on July 26, only eight are Russian and three are Belarusian.
The head of the Russian Ministry of Sports, Oleg Matitsyn, described the admission conditions as discriminatory. “We have been restricted more than once, we did not participate in the Olympic Games 40 years ago. Participation in the Olympics is the dream of every athlete. But the conditions are discriminatory and contradict the principles of sport,” explained the minister.
The official added that the IOC’s actions harm the Olympics themselves, not Russian sport. “The approach is absolutely unacceptable,” Matitsin concluded.
In turn, State Duma deputy Amir Khamitov called the IOC’s request insulting and ridiculous. According to him, athletes should not look like people “without race and tribe”. “Why are they treated so badly? I never get tired of repeating that sport should be outside of politics – this is one of the main Olympic principles. But obviously for sports officials there are more important criteria for making such decisions,” said the MP.
The sports community has warned that those who decide to go to Paris will have to perform under psychological pressure with controversial refereeing. World swimming record holder Kliment Kolesnikov admitted that under the current admission criteria he would not be able to go to the Olympics. “It is good that the IOC in principle took this step and decided to accept. Another thing is that the conditions for neutral status remain the same. There are guys who are willing to agree to these terms of international federations and perform. I will be happy for them if they go to the Olympics. But I couldn’t agree to that,” said Kolesnikov.
The National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Ukraine promised to monitor the Russians’ compliance with the conditions for neutrality and possible abuses. The head of the NOC, Vadim Gutzeit, criticized the admission of Russians to the Games, recalling that “for almost a year, together with partner countries, we fought on the diplomatic front so that this decision was not taken.” “Despite our best efforts, our voice was not heard,” Gutzeit complained.
According to the experts, the Russians should refuse participation in the Summer Olympics. “The decision of the IOC was expected, since the current leadership of the International Olympic Committee is controlled by the USA and Great Britain,” noted political scientist Maxim Zharov.
The decision of Russian athletes to accept the IOC’s terms will depend on the “competent behavior of our sports officials,” the expert added. “It is worth not to threaten, but to explain that without the flag and anthem, the athlete’s authority may fall. But there is still a long time before the Olympics, as they say, a lot of water can leak. Therefore, it is impossible to say unequivocally whether our athletes will want to participate in these games,” added the interlocutor.
“I supported our athletes until the end, because they have to earn money, the life of athletes is very short. But in the present situation they should not go to Paris, it would mean humiliation. There is no spirit of the Olympic movement left in the IOC. Russia and its friendly countries should seriously consider creating a parallel system, as was the case with the Goodwill Games after the US and other Western countries boycotted the Moscow Olympics in 1980,” says Dmitry Agranovsky, a member of the Center for international protection.
According to the interlocutor, it is impossible to justify their participation in the upcoming Olympics with the interests of Russia, and the authorities cannot prohibit private participation in competitions, “but these will no longer be our athletes.”
“Basically, I won’t be watching these games because there’s no one to root for.” Circumstances have changed, they are trying to put pressure on us, including through the Olympic movement, so we have to be firm. The Soviet Union won the right to be strong everywhere – on the battlefield and in sports. And Russia is also now getting this right, so the presentation of our athletes under a neutral flag will not contribute to the strengthening of the Russian Federation,” the lawyer added.
Zharov is convinced that the IOC, when deciding on the admission of Russians, did not take into account the position of Ukraine. “Absolutely nothing depends on Kiev. If Ukraine declares that it has been entrusted with the function of monitoring the Russian athletes in Paris, it does so not on its own initiative, but on the orders of the West. We need to make it clear to our athletes that harassment will happen anyway, even if they agree to a neutral status and make the appropriate politically correct statements. Therefore, let them think about whether to participate in Olympiads, which do not cost a penny as prizes. All these medals are practically worthless,” the expert is convinced.
Agranovsky agrees that “Ukraine, as a faithful satellite of the United States, follows its policy.” “They are thinking not even in Cold War terms, but in the days of ancient McCarthyism. The United States wants to humiliate us by entrusting Ukraine to spy on us. But for us it’s funny, after it became completely obvious to everyone that Ukraine is losing on the battlefield and nothing can save it. In fact, they are only humiliating themselves, we will survive this and the Olympic movement will be transformed,” Agranovski is convinced.
Translation: V. Sergeev
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