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Paris 2024 Olympics: the thorny question of Russian and Belarusian athletes
The complete program of sports and disciplines for the Paris-2024 Olympic Games will be validated next December © AFP / Franck Fife
Text by: Pierre Olivier Follow
4 mins
As the Paris Olympics approach, the question grows: should Russian and Belarusian athletes compete?
The subject goes beyond the sporting issue as it has become political with the war in Ukraine.
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For several weeks now, the possible participation of Russians and Belarusians under a neutral banner at the Paris Olympics has crystallized the debates.
If the International Olympic Committee (IOC) now seems in favor of such a decision, on the grounds that "
no athlete should be banned from competition on the sole basis of his passport
", this is not without creating concerns.
After a meeting at the beginning of the month between the Sports Ministers of around thirty countries, including France, the United Kingdom, Poland and the United States, a letter was sent on Monday February 20 to the IOC in order to obtain clarification on its neutrality criteria.
Normally, the neutral banner means that athletes cannot have "
a national anthem, a flag, whether on the podium or on the bibs
", notes Kevin Bernardi, consultant, specialist in the Olympic Games.
In the case of the 2024 Olympics, the 30 countries want the IOC to go further by fully enforcing the Olympic Charter.
Thus, only "
athletes who have not taken a position in favor of the conflict
" could participate in the Games, underlines Kevin Bernardi, while specifying "
that we enter there into the intimacy of each athlete and that the measure seems more symbolic than anything else
”.
voices against
Even in the event of participation under the neutral banner of Russia and Belarus, voices are already being raised to protest against the IOC's decision.
This is the case, for example, of the mayor of Kiev, Vitali Klitschko, who believes that it is “
impossible to be neutral when killing people
”.
A word that bears all the more on the subject of the Olympics as he is a sports figure, former world boxing champion.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, during the meeting between sports ministers in early February, spoke by videoconference, saying, speaking of Russia, that "the representatives of this terrorist state have no place in
competitions sports and Olympics
.
► To read also: Ukraine fights to exclude Russian athletes from the 2024 Paris Olympics
For her part, the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, clarified that
she was “
not in favor
”
of the option of a neutral banner.
“
We are not going to scroll through a country that is attacking another and pretend that it does not exist
”, she was indignant at the beginning of February on Franceinfo, while mentioning that if the IOC authorized their arrival , she would make her voice heard.
"
However, in fact, the IOC remains the sole owner of its event and it is therefore he who decides on the participants and will always have
the last word
", notes Lukas Aubin, research director at the Institute for International and Strategic Research. (Iris) and specialist in the geopolitics of Russia and sport.
The CIO under pressure
However, the question of the participation of Russians and Belarusians also puts the International Olympic Committee under pressure.
Because a year ago, just after the start of the war in Ukraine, in chosen terms, the IOC then recommended to international federations and competition organizers not to invite or allow the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes.
“
A year ago, the IOC came out of its apoliticism after taking a stand against Russia
,” notes Lukas Aubin.
“
Today, with this neutral banner, the IOC is once again seeking to depoliticize itself, but it is too late,
because it has become clear to everyone that sport is political and that the IOC makes political decisions
” , concludes the author of
Geopolitics of Russia
.
The decision to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to the 2024 Olympics should be made in the coming weeks by the IOC.
For their part, the Russians are already threatening to seize the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) if they do not participate in the Games.
The Ukrainian president says he is ready to boycott the Games if the Russians participate.
A decision that would be a real snub for the IOC.
► To read also: International competitions
: Russia a spectator, even for the Olympics
?
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