Paris Olympics 2024: UK amongst greater than 30 nations to help ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes

New tradition secretary Lucy Frazer chaired the summit earlier this month

The UK is amongst greater than 30 nations which have pledged help to an ongoing ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes competing in worldwide sporting occasions amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

It follows a summit involving all of the nations earlier this month.

The Worldwide Olympic Committee is “exploring a pathway” for Russians and Belarusians to compete as neutrals.

UK tradition secretary Lucy Frazer stated the IOC’s plans had been “not credible”.

Representatives from nations together with France, Germany, Poland, america and Canada attended the ten February summit, which was chaired by Frazer.

Ukraine, which was not a part of the summit, has threatened to boycott the 2024 Paris Olympics if the IOC permits Russian athletes to compete.

In a press release, Frazer stated: “This coalition of countries has supported Ukraine on a number of fronts and we’ll proceed to take action.

“At this time we’re setting out our severe issues with the Worldwide Olympic Committee’s plans which may see a route again into elite athletics for Russia and Belarus.

“Any plans to permit Russian and Belarusian athletes to take part in Paris will not be credible. With the prospect of tanks from the UK, United States and European companions arriving in Ukraine over the approaching weeks, and President Zelensky expressing severe issues {that a} spring offensive by Russia is imminent, we urge the IOC to rethink its place.”

The IOC known as on federations to exclude athletes from Russia and Belarus following the invasion of Ukraine and banned the nations from the Winter Paralympics in March 2022 – although athletes had been allowed to compete below a impartial flag.

Some sporting federations have ignored the IOC suggestion and allowed particular person athletes to compete as neutrals, however others have complied.

Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka gained the Australian Open in January competing as a impartial, and the Garden Tennis Affiliation was fined £1.4m by the ATP and WTA for banning Russian and Belarusian gamers from final summer season’s grass-court occasions, together with Wimbledon.

IOC president Thomas Bach stated in December the organisation confronted a “massive dilemma” in making certain athletes don’t endure because of sporting sanctions.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky stated permitting Russia to compete in Paris would quantity to exhibiting that “terror is in some way acceptable”.

Monday’s collective assertion stated “there is no such thing as a motive” for the IOC to reverse its determination final yr to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from competitors.

The nations expressed “severe issues about how possible it’s for Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete on a impartial foundation given they’re immediately funded and supported by their states” and stated there are “clear issues over the robust hyperlinks and affiliations between Russian athletes and the Russian navy”.

The assertion urged the IOC to rethink its proposal and stated the one method athletes from Russia and Belarus ought to return to the worldwide sports activities group was by their nations “ending the warfare they began”.

France – hosts of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Video games, 2021 hosts Japan, 2026 Winter Olympics hosts Italy and america, which is able to host the 2028 Summer season Olympics, are all among the many nations concerned.

Australia weren’t a signatory however a spokesman for the Australian Sports activities Ministry instructed Reuters it was an administrative error and the federal government is aligned with banning the athletes.

In response, the IOC stated in a press release: “The Worldwide Olympic Committee takes observe of the assertion by ministerial and senior representatives from ‘a collective group of countries’.

“The IOC appreciates the constructive questions with regard to the definition of the neutrality of athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport, whereas noting that the express human rights issues expressed by two particular rapporteurs of the United Nations Human Rights Council haven’t been addressed within the assertion.”