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IOC President Thomas Bach on March 19th in Lausanne
Photo: Laurent Gillieron / dpa
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) says it is facing an increased “disinformation and defamation campaign” from Russia. As the IOC announced on Thursday, fake calls had been received that were said to come from Russia.
According to this, among other things, a caller pretended to be the chairman of the African Union Commission. According to the IOC, the caller wanted "arguments against the politicization of sport by the Russian government in order to prepare a statement against this politicization."
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni received a similar call in September 2023. She fell for the caller and spoke of "great fatigue on all sides" with regard to the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. Other top politicians such as Economics Minister Robert Habeck and former Chancellor Angela Merkel have also been victims of such calls. According to a statement, the IOC assumes that the calls are made by the same group that has already duped politicians.
What exactly the IOC discussed with the supposed representative of the African Union is not known. The IOC also did not say how many calls were made. "There appears to have been a new incident in the Russian disinformation and smear campaign against the International Olympic Committee and its president," the IOC said in a statement.
This means that the conflict between the IOC and Russia is entering a new round. Only on Tuesday, the IOC announced that Russian and Belarusian athletes would not be allowed to take part in the parade at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris. Because of the war of aggression against Ukraine, Russian and Belarusian athletes are only allowed to compete at the summer games in the French capital under certain conditions. The Russian flag, the anthem and other state symbols are banned. The athletes are also not allowed to have any connection to the military, and teams are not allowed at all.
IOC criticizes Russia's plans
According to IOC director James MacLeod, only twelve Russian and five Belarusian athletes have qualified for the Olympics so far, and the numbers will most likely continue to rise. A new three-member committee headed by Vice President Nicole Hoevertsz will decide on the final approval. For comparison: 330 Russians and 104 Belarusians started in Tokyo 2021.
The IOC also criticized Russia's plan to host "friendly games" in September, calling it "a cynical attempt to politicize sport." The IOC called on all nations invited by Moscow to refuse to take part in the competition and to refuse any form of support.
In addition, last fall the IOC suspended the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) for breaching the Olympic Charter because the ROC had accepted the sports organizations of the annexed Ukrainian regions of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk as members.
kjo/sid/dpa/Reuters