Poland urged to punish the International Boxing Association for the admission of Russians

MOSCOW, Oct 8Polish Minister of Sports Kamil Bortnichuk called on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to deprive the International Boxing Association (IBA) of membership in the organization due to the admission of Russians and Belarusians to competitions. IBA on Wednesday announced the admission of athletes from Russia and Belarus to competitions. Russian and Belarusian boxers will be able to compete in international tournaments under the flags of their countries, and if they win, national anthems will be played. «This creates an extremely dangerous precedent for the entire world of sports. This decision is contrary to the recommendations of the IOC, which called for the exclusion of athletes from Russia and Belarus from international competitions from -for the conflict in Ukraine,» Bortnichuk said in an open letter, which was published on the Inside the Games portal. «I express my deep concern that the decision of the IBA could be the beginning of a massive effort by Russia to return its athletes to international sports. I call on all of you submit a joint proposal to the IOC, in which we will ask for the exclusion of the IBA from the organization,” the Polish Minister of Sports said. The boxing tournament at the Olympics was saved, but at the Tokyo Games it was held by a special commission of the IOC. In June, the IOC announced that the boxing tournament at the Paris 2024 Olympics would not be held under the auspices of the IBA, despite the IOC having yet to determine qualification conditions.