The pinnacle of the Worldwide Olympic Committee (IOC) has defended the choice to permit Russian and Belarussian athletes to compete on the 2024 Paris Olympics as neutrals.
Talking at a discussion board in Geneva, Switzerland, Thomas Bach stated “particular person atheletes can’t be punished for the acts of their governments”. There had been calls to bar Russian athletes after the nation invaded Ukraine in 2022.
The BBC reviews Bach saying it was “one struggle amongst 28 wars and conflicts happening this world and all the opposite athletes are competing peacefully with one another”.
The IOC final week stated particular person athletes from Russia and its ally Belarus can be allowed to compete with out flags, emblems or anthems ought to they qualify for the video games.
Athletes from Russia and Belarus had beforehand been barred from participating. That continues to be in place for groups representing both nation.
The IOC has nonetheless pledged to banning atheletes and assist personnel who assist the invasion of Ukraine. It additionally dedicated to supporting Ukranian athletes in “each method potential, so as to see a robust crew from the Nationwide Olympic Committee of Ukraine on the Olympic Video games Paris 2024”.
Olympic federations had requested the IOC to permit Russian and Belarusian athletes with out nationwide affiliation. Nonetheless, numerous international locations together with the US and UK had referred to as for a ban.
Ukraine advised it might boycott the video games. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russian athletes can’t be “lined up with some pretended neutrality”.
Bach dismissed talks of a boycott. He instructed the BBC international locations are “allowed to have completely different political beliefs”.
Throughout a discussion board discussing how sport may help refugees, Bach introduced a pledge of $45m (£36m) to assist half 1,000,000 refugees and an extra pledge of $50m for the refugee Olympic crew at Paris 2024.