Guardian: London appeals to Olympic sponsors over possible participation of Russians in the Games

The UK government has called on major sponsors of the Olympic Games to put pressure on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to prevent Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in the competition. About it informs newspaper The Guardian, citing a letter received by Coca-Cola, Intel, Samsung and Visa.

Earlier, the IOC proposed to allow Russians and Belarusians who do not actively participate in support of the special military operation (SVO) to participate in the Paris Olympics in a neutral status and subject to a number of conditions.

“Until our concerns and significant lack of clarity and specific details regarding a workable ‘neutrality’ model are resolved, we do not agree that Russian and Belarusian athletes should be allowed to compete,” the letter says.

The UK and 34 other countries have previously said that the situation in Ukraine has worsened since the IOC’s initial decision to remove athletes from the Games and that they should not be allowed to compete until the end of hostilities. In February, the countries, in a statement, recalls The Guardian, expressed “serious concern” about the possible participation of Russian and Belarusian citizens in competitions on a neutral basis and also because of the “close ties between Russian athletes and the military.”

“Noting the position stated by the IOC that no final decisions have yet been made, we urged the IOC to consider the questions raised by all countries and revise its proposal accordingly,” the letter to the sponsors reads.

The 2024 Summer Olympics will take place in Paris from July 26 to August 11. At the previous Tokyo 2020 Games, the Russians competed under a neutral flag due to VADA sanctions against the Russian Federation. Under the flag of the Russian Olympic Committee, athletes also participated in the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing.

In February 2022, against the backdrop of a special operation in Ukraine, the IOC recommended that international federations remove Russian and Belarusian athletes from competitions. Most federations supported the initiative.

The suspension of athletes from international competitions should be maintained in 2023, IOC President Thomas Bach announced at the end of December 2022. In early December, French President Emmanuel Macron spoke out for the admission of Russian athletes to the Olympic Games in 2024. The United States Olympic Committee (USOPC) also believes that they should be allowed to compete on the condition that they compete without a national flag.