The leaders of the Ukrainian Olympic sports federations will sign a joint appeal to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) demanding to keep recommendation on the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes from international competitions, the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine said on Wednesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th March, 2023) The leaders of the Ukrainian Olympic sports federations will sign a joint appeal to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) demanding to keep recommendation on the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes from international competitions, the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine said on Wednesday.
"The heads of the Ukrainian federations for Olympic sports will sign a joint appeal to the International Olympic Committee demanding that the recommendation of the Executive board of the International Olympic Committee dated February 28, 2022, regarding the non-admission of athletes from Russia and Belarus to international competitions remain valid," the committee said in a statement.
The statement added that the signing of the document would take place on Thursday.
In February 2022, the IOC recommended that international sports federations ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in competitions after Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine. A number of international federations followed the recommendation, while others allowed athletes to participate under the neutral flag.
On January 25, the IOC's executive committee said it might allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in the 2024 Olympics under a neutral flag, causing outrage and protests from a group of 35 countries. On February 18, the European Parliament voted in favor of a resolution condemning the decision of the IOC to consider allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to the Olympic Games. The parliament also called for pressure to be put on the IOC to abandon its openness toward athletes from these two countries. Meanwhile, Ukraine condemned the IOC's position and threatened to boycott the games.
