The Russian deputy prime minister in charge of tourism and sport on Wednesday accused the International Olympic Committee of advocating the interests of a select club of nations after it barred Russia from the 2024 Paris Games
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th July, 2023) The Russian deputy prime minister in charge of tourism and sport on Wednesday accused the International Olympic Committee of advocating the interests of a select club of nations after it barred Russia from the 2024 Paris Games.
"The IOC has long ceased to be an organization that defends the interests of athletes and is a structure that is essentially a gerontocracy monopolized by chosen nations," Dmitry Chernyshenko said in a statement.
The Russian official said he was not surprised by IOC President Thomas Bach's announcement that Russia and Belarus had not been officially invited to the Paris Olympics, set for August 2024. Bach said Russian and Belarusian athletes would be allowed to compete as neutrals as long as they met strict criteria.
Chernyshenko said Russia had extensive experience in organizing multinational sports events and would not miss out on much. It is preparing to host an international university sports festival in Yekaterinburg in August that will bring together athletes from across Europe, Asia and BRICS member states.
"Our country has plenty of experience, motivation and possibilities to organize events that will rival or even surpass the Olympic Games. Russia will not be isolated from international sport... We are convinced that we will prepare a fitting response to the global sports lobby," he said.
