The International Olympic Committee has suspended the ROC indefinitely

Another package of sanctions against the domestic sports industry has hit its key structure. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) suspended the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) for an indefinite period due to the inclusion of the Olympic Councils of the DPR and LPR, as well as the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions. The Russian Olympic movement believes that this decision only “fixed the situation” of “a complete severance of all ties, including financial ones,” and is “a good reason to sue” the party that applied “deconstructive” sanctions. The IOC itself admitted that it will not in any way affect the participation of Russian representatives in the Olympics in Paris in a neutral status next summer, the final format of which, however, has still not been decided.

The meeting of the executive committee of the International Olympic Committee began with a formally very high-profile event. The IOC, since February 2022, the beginning of a special military operation in Ukraine, has already repeatedly initiated the application of sanctions against the Russian sports industry. But this time they touched on a key structure in it. IOC He has made a decision on the “immediately effective” suspension for an indefinite period, “until further notice,” of the Russian Olympic Committee. The reason for, in fact, the maximum severity of punishment was the inclusion last week of the Olympic Councils of the DPR and LPR, as well as the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, that is, regions accepted into the Russian Federation a year ago, into the ROC. As IOC representative Mark Adams clarified, from the point of view of the members of the executive committee, it was a “violation of the Olympic Charter”, since it threatens the “integrity” of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Ukraine.

In fact, OCD found itself in this situation for the second time in a fairly short period of time—six years. Moreover, in the previous sanctions from the IOC, he did not earn the exact same form of integration of the regional committees of the new territories. On the contrary, the inclusion of the Olympic Councils of Crimea and Sevastopol in the ROC in 2016 did not raise any questions. He suffered in December 2017 due to the “doping crisis” that had been raging in Russian sports for many months by that time. Then the IOC Executive Committee also deprived him of recognition.

True, OCD was restored to his rights very quickly. The punishment was lifted immediately after the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, which took place in February 2018. The Russian team, however, performed there in a neutral status, without the opportunity to use the brand “Russian Olympic Committee” and in a composition that was greatly truncated due to the “filters” invented by the IOC and international sports federations, without the lion’s share of leaders, winning only two golds and finding themselves outside the top ten of the medal standings.

It looks like a similar scenario awaits her now. Mark Adams emphasized that the Mumbai decision of the executive committee will not affect the implementation of updated in March recommendations of the IOC, which softened the “isolation” regime in relation to Russian athletes, who are allowed to compete in international competitions in individual events and disciplines subject to a number of criteria (the list includes refusal to actively support a special operation and lack of ties with the armed forces of the Russian Federation and “national security agencies” “), and most importantly: for Russia’s participation in future Olympics – summer in Paris in 2024 and winter in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo in 2026. The IOC has not yet decided on its format. And Mark Adams only said that a verdict on it would be formulated at the “appropriate time.”

IN official statement The ROC, whose president Stanislav Pozdnyakov has in recent months used extremely harsh rhetoric in relation to the IOC strategy with terms such as “discrimination” and “farce”, also says that “Russian athletes, the vast majority of whom continue to be groundlessly excluded from international performances, this step has no effect, the neutralization status remains unchanged.” The statement described the move as “another counterproductive decision with obvious political motivations” that consolidates “de jure what was done de facto back in February 2022.”

ROC “as a participant in the international sports movement reserves the right to protect its own interests, as well as the interests of athletes and organizations of a sovereign country,” which it “represents in good faith.”

The reaction of the Minister of Sports of the Russian Federation Oleg Matytsin was maintained in the same tone. From Mr. Matytsin’s point of view, “by making such decisions, the IOC demonstrates total dependence on political and business conditions, losing authority and independence.” He recalled that “clear, substantiated criteria for the admission of Russian and Belarusian athletes to the Olympic Games have not yet been formulated, and in various sports, international federations establish their own rules of the game and ignore the recommendations of the IOC.”

“This only confirms that in its current form, the International Olympic Committee no longer adequately represents and protects the interests of world sport and athletes and is significantly losing weight and competence as an international regulator. DPR, LPR, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions are regions of the Russian Federation, their athletes have equal opportunities to participate in competitions on the territory of Russia and as part of the Russian national team, we provide all the necessary conditions for them to be part of the national sports system and have all social guarantees “summed up Oleg Matytsin.

At the same time, describing the practical consequences of the decision, Mark Adams nevertheless emphasized that the ROC during the suspension cannot function as a full-fledged NOC and, in particular, “receive any funding from the international Olympic movement.” He did not say exactly what amounts he was talking about, but this is already clear. A Kommersant source familiar with the situation advised us to pay attention to the words of ROC General Director Vladimir Sengleev in Ufa a week ago. Mr. Sengleyev noted that the IOC already owes the Russian structure $3.7 million for 2022 under the Top-10 program related to interaction with the largest sponsors of the Olympic movement, and also has not yet transferred the payment of $5 million for 2023.

The Kommersant source called the overall losses of the OCD due to the confrontation “significant”, but “not interfering with the performance of basic functions.”

According to him, “an almost complete severance of ties with the IOC, including financial ones,” actually happened back in 2022: “Our representatives have been removed from all commissions; we are not invited to meetings, both offline and online. So in this sense, the Mumbai meeting, having fixed the situation, did not change anything, except that it may serve as a good reason to still try to achieve justice in the legal field: you cannot file a lawsuit against the recommendations, unlike a public decision of the executive committee.” Kommersant’s interlocutor emphasized that in the “current realities” the ROC, which found itself in isolation, chose the “internal agenda” as a priority, along with maintaining contacts with friendly NOCs and various international sports structures. This includes support for current athletes, but the central point is the “formation of reserves” with the goal of bringing the younger generation of athletes to the “highest level” for the 2028 Olympics, which will be hosted by Los Angeles, America.

Alexey Dospehov