Russia’s war in Ukraine cannot be normalised. The IOC’s decision to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes at the 2024 Games will risk this.
The battle between the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and its opponents continues.
Earlier this year, the IOC made a controversial decision stating that Russian and Belarusian athletes would be able to compete at the 2024 Olympic Games. The committee ruled that men and women from these countries would be allowed to participate, but that they would have to compete under a neutral banner.
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Ukraine, as well as nearly forty other countries, expressed their outrage, stating that Russian and Belarusian athletes should not be allowed to participate. Russia’s and Belarus’s involvement in the war in Ukraine, they argued, should preclude them from next year’s prestigious competition.
Numerous countries have also written several letters to the IOC, calling for a ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes. Even the Parliamentary Assembly for the Council of Europe, and several sports organisations, contacted the IOC, calling for the removal of Russian and Belarusian participants. Despite the efforts of these countries and these groups, Russians and Belarusians will still be permitted to partake in next year’s competition.
In the latest development of this saga, the IOC officially announced that it would not invite the countries of Russia and Belarus to attend the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France. In its statement, the IOC declared that these two countries would not be invited due to their continued aggression against Ukraine.
“To protect the integrity of global sports competitions and for the safety of all the participants, the IOC EB recommends that International Sports Federations and sports event organisers not invite or allow the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials in international competitions,” the statement read. “The IOC will take this decision at the appropriate time, at its full discretion, and without being bound by the results of previous Olympic qualification competitions,” the group added.
While the countries of Russia and Belarus have not been invited, individual athletes who hold Russian or Belarusian passports will still be permitted to participate. This defeats the purpose of not inviting Russia and Belarus, as their athletes will still be allowed to take the field in Paris.
Precedent
Banning countries from participating is also not unprecedented. According to National Public Radio, there have been at least three other instances where countries and their athletes were barred from participating in the prestigious competition.
Following the conclusion of World War II, Germany and Japan were not invited to partake in the 1948 Olympic Games due to the atrocities they committed during the war. Germany and Japan were responsible for starting the global conflict, and their inability to participate in the 1948 Games was a punishment.
Then, during the 1970s and 1980s, South Africa was excluded from the competition due to its brutal apartheid rules. The United Nations also imposed sanctions on South Africa during this period. Finally, in 1992, the former Yugoslavia was excluded from the Olympic Games due to sanctions implemented by the UN.
An erroneous message
In these instances, athletes from the four countries were not permitted to participate in the Olympic Games.
But for some odd reason, Russians and Belarusians appear to have different treatment. Unlike these previous examples, where athletes from these countries could not compete at all, Russian and Belarusian athletes will still be allowed to participate under a neutral banner at the 2024 Games.
The 2024 Summer Olympic Games are now less than a year away. The international community must continue to pressure the IOC to fully prevent Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in the competition. Otherwise, should they be permitted, this will send an erroneous message that it’s business as usual for Russians and Belarusians.
Russia’s war in Ukraine cannot be normalised. The IOC’s decision to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes at the 2024 Games will risk this.
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