Due to the unyielding logic of Russia’s military aggression against our country, almost all sports competitions that were supposed to be held on its territory were taken away from our neighbor, who was suffering from imperial illness. In addition, Russian, and at the same time Belarusian athletes, with the tacit, and sometimes untacit consent of which their country was drawn into the war on the side of the aggressor, are massively deprived of the right to participate in international competitions of any level.
Unfortunately, Russians and Belarusians still take part in some international tournaments – inertia in the thinking and action of foreign leaders in some sports is still strong.
However, on the eve of the Summer Olympic Games to be held in the summer of 2024 in Paris, all of us, Ukrainians, had good reason to believe that there would be no athletes from the aggressor country and its accomplice at the main sports forum of the four-year period.
However, starting from the end of last year and in the first days of this year, weighty prerequisites and facts appeared in the information space in this regard, stating the opposite: both Russians and Belarusians can still be admitted to the Olympic Games-2024.
For the first time, this was stated in the affirmative, without wags and curtsies in different directions, by none other than IOC President Thomas Bach. Here are his words: “Perhaps Russian and Belarusian athletes could compete under a neutral flag at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. We know the point of view of Ukraine, which wants to isolate Russia not only as a state, but also wants to completely isolate all Russians. Individual athletes should not be discriminated against by exclusion, even if countries are in a state of conflict.”
With sharp criticism of the head of the International Olympic Committee, the head of the NOC of Ukraine Vadym Gutzeit, our Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmitry Kuleba, prominent Ukrainian athletes spoke. And President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, who offered Bach to visit Bakhmut.
But the flywheel, set in motion by a top international sports official, has already begun to spin.
The position of the head of the IOC was supported by the European Olympic Committee (it turns out that there is such a structure). Here is his brief communiqué: “The EOC does not believe that athletes should be banned from competing solely on the basis of what kind of passport they have. The EOC reviewed the current status of the participation of Russia and Belarus at the meeting of the Executive Committee on January 21 and will continue its efforts to explore possible solutions in accordance with the consultations held by the IOC.”
Further – a reflection from the UN: “We call on the IOC to take a decision in this direction and go further, ensuring non-discrimination of any athlete on the basis of his nationality.”
Well, and very heavy “artillery” – the words of the head of the US Olympic Committee Gene Sykes: “After we have listened to many athletes and fans from the United States, we recognize the real need for all the best athletes in the world to take part in the competition. But this can happen if the process is carried out with full assurance of safe and fair play. As such, we urged the IOC to continue to explore a process that would preserve existing sanctions by ensuring that only neutral and clean athletes are allowed to compete.”
That is, the above rhetoric in general boils down to the following: athletes from Russia (are there really such people left there) and Belarus, such as “who did not openly support military aggression against Ukraine”, can compete at the Olympics. But – under a neutral flag (NOC), without the use of the national anthem and any other national symbols. How these rules do not work was clearly seen at the Australian Open, although the tournament organizers tried hard to turn a blind eye to the Z-symbols in the stands.
In general, the “sports collective West”, in contrast to the “political West”, continues to play peacemaker, continues to frailly seek the line between “the wolves are fed and the sheep are safe.”
And, for the time being, such a “collective” rhetoric, if it did not give ripe fruits, then, in any case, gave the necessary resonance. It seemed that it was we, Ukraine, a country suffering from aggression and losing every day on the battlefield hundreds of our sons and daughters, among whom there are many athletes, remained in the minority. And our call to boycott the competitions, as mentioned by Gutzeit, in case of admission of rashists to the Olympic Games, will play, first of all, against us.
To be honest, after such a close-knit and high-ranking “licking” (excuse me, for the frankness) of the Russian-Belarusian Olympic prospects, it was hard not to fall into despair.
At first, I too succumbed to our general skepticism and pessimism. But then, pulling myself together, I realized the following simple truth. All these bahs and others like him can rant about anything. But – for the time being, for the time being. As long as the situation on the Ukrainian-Russian front remains very alarming and, in their opinion, uncertain, they will continue to carefully procrastinate the thesis “sport is out of politics”. But if the situation changes in our favor, their rhetoric will also change. Here you will see.
And we, besides the emotional and very straightforward thesis about the boycott of the Olympics in the event that Russians and their “little sisters” Belarusians get there, first of all, we need to take care of creating a powerful anti-Russian sports coalition. It will definitely be more efficient. Much more efficient.
And, it must be admitted, Ukraine is working very actively and productively in this direction. Recently, the Minister of Sports of Poland, Kamil Bortnichuk, sharply criticized the position of the IOC in the event of the admission of Belarusian Russians to the Olympic Games 2024. Let me quote him: “We are taking a number of measures in the international arena, we are talking about the sports ministers of 40 countries who signed appeals in order to create some pressure on the leadership of the International Olympic Committee. The main burden in this matter lies with Poland and the UK. Here there must be an effective coalition of countries, without which the organization of the Games would not have been possible.”
That is, in this case – not in word, but in deed. After all, it is one thing when Ukraine boycotts the Olympics in the minority, and quite another when almost all the Olympic delegations from Europe do not arrive in Paris. And not only from Europe.
And it looks like the IOC, led by Bach, has backtracked. In any case, in a recent official statement of the department, the following is said: “The decision on the participation of athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris has not yet been made. We are talking about their participation in international competitions in Asia in the upcoming summer sports season. In none of the documents published by the IOC, you will find a mention of the 2024 Olympics for athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport.”
Looks like the first one went. There will be more to come. Very soon, Katsap creatures will be kicked in the face throughout Ukraine, and those creatures will definitely have no time for the Olympics. And the coalition of countries opposing rashism at the Olympic Games will number not forty, but one hundred and forty states.
And Bach will be the first who will not only ban the Russians from going to the Games in Paris, but will also go to the Ukrainian Bakhmut …
Born in Ukraine, the Parimatch brand continues to support Ukrainian sports and the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The company is confident that the strength of Ukrainians is in unity – and it is important to unite in order to prevent the return of athletes from the terrorist country to international competitions!
Russians who are destroying sport in Ukraine have no right to be part of the Olympic family. They deliberately and purposefully violate all the Olympic principles: destroy, kill, mock, discriminate.
The IOC is ready to turn a blind eye to the atrocities of the Russians, they are ready to cover them with a white flag.
But the Ukrainians are not ready!
