Paris (AFP)
Athletes participating in the Tokyo Olympics in six months and who will not be vaccinated will have to deal with "extremely difficult" conditions, Denis Masseglia, president of the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF), warned Monday.
Denis Masseglia, who spoke Friday in video conference with the President of the IOC Thomas Bach, evoked for the non-vaccinated athletes "a form of quarantine, of fortnight" once there in Japan, "where it will be necessary to do morning and evening tests ".
The issue of the vaccination of athletes for the Tokyo Olympics, postponed last year due to the pandemic, must be addressed on Wednesday at the IOC Executive Board, which officially encourages the vaccination of athletes, but cannot impose it.
For Denis Masseglia, "it is the holding of the Games which is the final stake".
"We are not alone. For our Japanese friends, welcoming athletes and accredited people from all over the world requires a little precaution," he explained during a video conference after a CNOSF congress , anticipating that the complicated reception conditions for unvaccinated athletes could have "a dissuasive effect" for those who refuse to do so.
In France, nearly a million priority people have been vaccinated, but the pace of vaccination is extremely varied around the world, with some countries not even having started yet.
This question of the vaccination of athletes also raises an ethical problem.
"There is no question that athletes have priority over other categories of the population, but by the time the Games we can think that there is the possibility of having them vaccinated without this penalizing other people", hopes Denis Masseglia.
In France, Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu said she was "waiting" for a clear decision from the sports movement on the issue, "whether it be international federations or the IOC".
"I have taken a stand for vaccination, I hope that all French athletes will be in this perspective," added Denis Masseglia.
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