Olympic sponsors have been urged by the British Government to help a continued ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes for subsequent 12 months’s Games in Paris.
Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer has written to the UK chief executives of the International Olympic Committee’s 13 worldwide companions, who embody Coca-Cola, Intel, Samsung and Visa, to place stress on the IOC to set out the element across the ‘pathway’ it’s contemplating which might permit Russians and Belarusians to compete as neutrals.
The IOC’s government board really helpful athletes from these two nations be excluded from worldwide sports activities occasions final February, within the instant aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
However, IOC president Thomas Bach insists these had been measures designed to “protect” these athletes, and now says athletes shouldn’t be discriminated in opposition to due to the passport they maintain.
The UK is certainly one of 35 nations, additionally together with the United States and Games hosts France, who’ve demanded readability from the IOC on the exact phrases of neutrality.
Frazer wrote: “We know sport and politics in Russia and Belarus are heavily intertwined, and we are determined that the regimes in Russia and Belarus must not be allowed to use sport for their propaganda purposes.
“As long as our concerns and the substantial lack of clarity and concrete detail on a workable ‘neutrality’ model are not addressed, we do not agree that Russian and Belarusian athletes should be allowed back into competition.
“Noting the IOC’s stated position that no final decisions have been made, we have strongly urged the IOC to address the questions identified by all countries and reconsider its proposal accordingly.
“As an Olympic partner, I would welcome your views on this matter and ask you to join us in pressing the IOC to address the concerns raised in our statement.”
The UK Government believes the state of affairs in Ukraine has deteriorated for the reason that IOC took its preliminary stance to exclude Russia and Belarus, and that so long as Russian president Vladimir Putin continues the invasion, athletes from these nations shouldn’t be allowed to compete.
The IOC responded to the letter by saying there was no place for presidency interference in sport.
In a press release to the PA information company, an IOC spokesperson stated: “The IOC has taken note of the letter. It is not up to governments to decide which athletes can participate in which international competitions. This would be the end of world sport, as we know it today.
“We hope very much that the British government will respect the autonomy of sport which they have emphasised in so many decisions, statements and UN resolutions…
“What is under discussion in the Olympic Movement right now is nothing else than what is already happening in a number of international sports. Just last weekend we saw a Ukrainian player winning the WTA tournament in Austin/Texas in a final against a player with a Russian passport.
“In this context, we follow with great interest the discussion around the participation of players with Russian and Belarussian passports at Wimbledon.
“In accordance with how sport is organised around the world and with the Olympic Charter, it must be the sole responsibility of sport organisations to decide which athletes can take part in international competitions based exclusively on their sporting merit.
“According to this, Olympic sponsors are not involved in this decision-making process.”
