Bach questioned the need for protective measures: the NHL and Russian tennis are happy

The President of the IOC announced the discussion of the admission of our athletes more than once

The discussion of the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the 2024 Olympics in Paris will be continued at the Olympic summit on December 9, and then next year. The head of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, stated this at a press conference following a meeting of the executive committee of the organization, which reaffirmed the removal of Russia. “The sanctions must remain in place, there is no change in the positions of the IOC.”

The IOC Olympic Summit will take place on December 9 via videoconference in Lausanne, Switzerland. Participants: Thomas Bach, Vice Presidents and Executive Board members of the IOC, Heads of some International Sports Federations, Presidents of Continental Olympic Committees and representatives of National Olympic Committees. The President of the Russian Olympic Committee, Stanislav Pozdnyakov, has been invited to participate.

The summit, among other issues, will discuss the holding of the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing and the future Games in Paris, the fight against doping, the current state of the Olympic movement, and Olympic qualification formats.

Thomas Bach answered the question of how Russian and Belarusian athletes, even theoretically, can take part in the next Olympic Games if they are not allowed to qualify for the competition. The President of the IOC called consultations with international federations the way to solve this problem. And he clarified that this issue will be discussed again at the Olympic Summit on December 9 and next year.

Returning to the meeting of the IOC Executive Committee, which was held in Lausanne from December 5 to 7 and confirmed the sanctions against our athletes, Thomas Bach said that the decision was not challenged by any of the members of the organization’s executive committee. And once again he called for separating sanctions from “protective measures”.

Bach reiterated what he had said more than once: athletes cannot be punished for the decisions of their states. And the issue of non-participation of athletes from Russia and Belarus “always consisted” not in sanctions, but in protective measures in order to “preserve the integrity of the competition and ensure the safety of the athletes of these countries.”

However, returning to the already famous “IOC dilemma” (how, by suspending, to respect the rights of athletes), Thomas Bach said that it was necessary to understand: are these protective measures necessary? “We talked back in February that we were introducing these protective measures with a heavy heart,” Bach said.

And he gave opposite examples: the incessant performances of Russians at the US Open in tennis or in the NHL, which do not bring problems. And the actions of the British government during Wimbledon, which forced the organizers to exclude Russians and Belarusians. “This is the situation we are in and we have to overcome,” said Bach. Recalling that governments should not make decisions about who should compete based on political motives.

Thomas Bach also cited an opinion on the removal of Russia and Belarus from the starts of the President of France, the country that will host the Olympic Games in 2024. According to the President of the IOC, President Macron said that sport should not be politicized, therefore “representatives of all countries, including those that are at war, should participate in the Olympic Games.”