International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach tough criticized Ukraine and other countries calling for a boycott of the 2024 Paris Games over the possible participation of Russians and Belarusians there. He also said that he was ready to allow our athletes to the Olympics, although, of course, not everything is so simple.
Ukraine was put in its placeTalks about Russia and the 2024 Games subsided in the last weeks of summer. This is understandable, international sports officials are ordinary people who also plan to go on vacation at this time. In September, the return to serious matters begins. So the head of the IOC, Thomas Bach, did not delay and made some interesting statements in an interview with CNBC-TV18.
First, he harshly criticized Ukraine's initiative to boycott the Olympics if Russian and Belarusian athletes were admitted there. The fact is that in August, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that Ukraine and a coalition of 35 countries were ready to take such a step. Bach found something to answer.
“I always stand up for the human right to be respected and for no one to be sanctioned because someone in their community, country makes a mistake or does something wrong or bad. Everyone who called for a boycott , should have understood that such a sports boycott had no effect and was just symbolic, but it did not live up to their expectations. On the contrary, in most cases it caused damage, «CNBC-TV18 quotes Bach.
Whose side will the IOC choose? This was not the first time Thomas had voiced his disapproval of such initiatives. Now this is just a belated reaction to the statement of the Prime Minister of Ukraine. It was important for the IOC President to clarify that his position had not changed, and the pressure of other countries would not pass. Of course, many of Bach's words look, to put it mildly, in two ways, but we must give him his due in the fact that he never slipped into frank Russophobia and at least has the courage to rebuff absolutely crazy ideas.
Then the German spoke about the potential admission of Russia and Belarus to the Games. It is interesting that around the same time, the International Aquatics Federation (World Aquatics) formed the criteria for the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in international competitions, albeit with a number of serious restrictions. Bach also made it clear that the chance to see Russia in Paris is quite high, and it is simply impossible to isolate Russian sports.
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“I think you have a clear idea of our recommendations: no teams, anthems, colors, no national identity. On the other hand, providing athletes who do not support the CBO and who are not associated with the military or other services located in Russia or Belarus with the opportunity to compete as neutral athletes. We have a Russian government that wants us to ignore the whole world. On the other hand, the Ukrainian government, which announced the complete isolation of everyone who has a Russian passport, which is impossible given our values. This is impossible from the point of view of human rights and the Olympic Charter,» Bach said.
The IOC still does not give a clear deadline for a final decision. Obviously, they are waiting for some political changes that may occur closer to the start of the Games in Paris. The problem is that if we pull to the last minute, then many of our athletes simply will not be able to qualify for the Olympics. However, some international federations have slowly begun to allow us, and now the turn has come to swimming.
Yes, there are a lot of restrictions everywhere that cause a wild amount of controversy among representatives of the Russian sports elite. It is understandable that the IOC wants to please everyone at once, but pretty soon Bach and the company will have to decide which side they are on.