Intimidation by boycotts: how unfriendly countries intend to issue an ultimatum to the IOC and not let Russians into the Olympics

The situation around the admission of Russians and Belarusians to international competitions and the Olympics in Paris continues to heat up.

The representatives of Ukraine were the first to talk about the boycott of the competitions, where domestic athletes will be admitted.

And the head of the office of the Ukrainian president, Mikhail Podolyak, even accused Thomas Bach of corruption.

However, the IOC called such statements slander.

Vladimir Zelensky, in turn, wrote a letter to Emmanuel Macron urging Russian citizens not to be allowed to attend the Games.

The latter, we recall, wants to see the strongest athletes of all countries in the capital of France in 2024. 

However, such a reaction from Kyiv was expected, and is unlikely to affect the position of the IOC.

Another thing is the statement of the Minister of Sports of Poland Kamil Bortnichuk.

He said that together with representatives of the UK he intends to create a coalition against the participation of Russia and Belarus in the Olympics.

According to the official, if domestic athletes are admitted, the united countries may issue an ultimatum to the IOC.

“Everything will depend on whether we manage to create an effective coalition of countries without which the Games cannot be held,” Inside the Games quotes the minister.

It is easy to guess who will support Poland's initiative.

Lithuanian MP Raimundas Lopata has already demanded decisive action from the NOC of his country.

“We cannot watch indifferently that the IOC is going to allow Russians to participate in the Olympics,” said Lopata.

Earlier, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas called the organization's decision "politically and morally wrong."

She insists that we need to "increase isolation, not succumb to Russia."

Lithuania and Norway have a similar position.

However, in order to really put pressure on Thomas Bach, these states need the support of those countries that significantly influence the distribution of places in the overall team standings of the Games: the USA, China, France, Germany.

On the contrary, they oppose discrimination.

Thus, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said that it is wrong to treat all Russians as enemies.

According to the official, he never shared the idea of ​​excluding artists, athletes and the civilian population.

American officials have repeatedly spoken out on this issue.

At the same time, the IOC, after the publication of the message last week, has not yet given any additional clarifications.

At the same time, he adds fuel to the fire with publications on social networks.

So, on Monday, January 30, the committee noted the Australian Open as an example of "implementation of the concept using a neutral flag."

The choice is not the most unequivocal, since in Australia there were initially no restrictions on the use of the tricolor, and only after indignation and provocations from the Ukrainians it was banned.

However, he still repeatedly appeared in the hands of Serbian fans.

The organizers themselves, in turn, under pressure from public opinion, brought the situation to the point of absurdity, removing Maria Sharapova and Yevgeny Kafelnikov from the pedestals with the names of the winners of the Grand Slam citizenship tournament.

“The only disappointment at the Australian Open this year for me was that the organizers believe that in 1999 Yevgeny Kafelnikov was a stateless tramp,” the tennis player wrote on social networks.

The lack of specifics on the neutral status is expected to bring confusion in Russian society.

On Monday, there were even calls to boycott the Olympics in Paris if they were not allowed to enter with a flag and an anthem.

In particular, this opinion was expressed by two-time Olympic biathlon champion Dmitry Vasiliev.

“Our leadership needs to be, of course, tougher.

So far, I don’t observe this rigidity in Pozdnyakov.

He's trying to be somewhat tolerant there.

I just do not understand what it is in the current conditions - the word "tolerance".

What does it mean?

Make all concessions, that is, whatever we are ordered to do, do everything.

In general, it is necessary to somehow defend the position of Russia and athletes in general.

Pozdnyakov should be much tougher than he was before today.

And if we are not allowed to perform with the flag and the anthem, of course, we must boycott, ”RIA Novosti quoted Vasiliev as saying.

The ROC tried to immediately stop the continuation of the discussion in this direction.

As Pozdnyakov noted, history does not know cases when such actions would have a positive effect on the development of sports in a single country.

“Everyone who is now calling on us to boycott the Olympics, regardless of the reasoning, should be clearly aware that this kind of demarche is a direct path to isolating all domestic sports for at least two Olympic cycles.

That is, the flag, the anthem, our athletes will not be in most of the competitive international competitions for eight years.

This is precisely what our opponents are striving for with all their might, ”wrote the head of the ROC in his Telegram channel.

And ROC Secretary General Rodion Plitukhin drew attention to the fact that while we are talking about the admission of athletes to qualifying competitions, and not to the Olympics.

“The IOC is now individually discussing exactly this with the international sports federations.

The ROC, in turn, in the current conditions, will use all its resources and capabilities to develop a verified approach and procedure for participating in the Olympic Games,” the press service of the committee quoted Plitukhin as saying.

By the way, representatives of sports organizations are not so worried about the flag and anthem at the Olympics.

According to the head of the Russian Fencing Federation, Ilgar Mammadov, first you need to qualify for the Games, and only then discuss whether to go to them or not.

“What kind of Paris can we talk about if there is no selection?

Under what flag to act, neutral or not, is not a question of a short-term perspective.

The question of the near future is the possibility of selection for the Olympic Games, but it is absent.

We have a very serious selection, which starts on April 1 and ends at the end of March 2024, that is, we have a year of selection.

And this selection includes 5 stages of the World Cup, plus the Grand Prix, plus the Continental Championship and the World Championship.

We cannot visit the continental championship, because we received a letter from the European Olympic Committee ... We are not invited to the World Cup stages either, ”the specialist said in an interview with Sport-Express.

At the same time, Mammadov admitted that he did not understand the meaning of a neutral status.

“Everyone knows that these are Russian athletes.

Will it be bad for you if the anthem of the Russian Federation is played and the flag is raised?

Or do they just want to divide society into reds and whites?”

- added the head of the FFR.