German Sports Minister Nancy Faeser on Saturday called on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to “examine very precisely” the backgrounds of Russian athletes, and to exclude from the 2024 Olympics those who supported the war against Ukraine. The IOC, led by the German Thomas Bach, authorized on Friday the presence of Russian and Belarusian athletes at the Paris Olympic Games in 2024, under neutral banner and strict conditions of neutrality, if they met the qualification criteria.
“The warmonger Putin must under no circumstances be able to use the Olympic Games in Paris for his propaganda. That Russian teams remain excluded and that flags and symbols are banned is the bare minimum of what we can expect from the IOC,” underlined Nancy Faeser, quoted in a press release.
Neutrality criteria deemed “discriminatory” by Moscow
In March 2023, the IOC recommended to international federations to reintegrate Russian and Belarusian athletes, individually, under a neutral banner, provided that they did not support the war launched by the Russian army on February 24, 2022 against Ukraine, and that they are not under contract either with the army or with national security agencies.
“Now it is up to the International Olympic Committee and the international federations to examine very precisely whether Russian and Belarusian individual athletes are excluded if they have supported in any way the Russian war of aggression or if they have a any connection with the Russian government or the Russian army,” said the Minister of the Interior, also in charge of Sports. According to the IOC, eleven athletes – eight Russians and three Belarusians – have so far qualified by meeting the neutrality criteria, judged “discriminatory” through Moscow.