MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th February, 2023) Individual governments have no right to decide who should take part in sports tournaments, including the 2024 Paris Olympics, and who should be barred from them, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach said on Sunday.
On January 25, the IOC's executive committee said it might allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics under a neutral flag. Ukraine condemned the committee's position and threatened to boycott the games. On Friday, a group of 35 countries called for banning Russian and Belarusian athletes from the 2024 Olympics.
"It is not up to governments to decide who can take part in sporting events. This would be the end of international sport competitions as we know them today," Bach said during the 2023 Alpine Ski World Championship in France's Courchevel, as quoted by the Verdens Gang tabloid.
The IOC head added that there had already been instances of Ukrainian athletes competing against Russian citizens playing under a neutral flag, the news outlet reported.
"We have seen a Ukrainian tennis player (Kateryna Baindl) playing against a neural athlete with a Russian passport (Kamilla Rakhimova) at the Australian Open. We have seen a Belarusian tennis player under neutral status winning in the Australian Open. So why shouldn't this be possible in a swimming pool or in a gym?" Bach said, adding that the IOC took human rights concerns seriously and respected them.
Many international sports organizations have banned Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in their competitions in response to Moscow's ongoing military operation in Ukraine and Minsk's support for it.
