(Lausanne) The President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, on Thursday castigated the negative reactions of several European countries to the partial reintegration of Russians and Belarusians into world sport, deeming this political interference “deplorable”.
“It is deplorable to see that these governments do not want to respect the majority within the Olympic movement, nor the autonomy of sport”, declared to the press the German leader, after three days of meeting of the executive board of the Olympic Games. instance.
The insistence of the boss of the IOC on the “autonomy” of the sports sphere is anything but new, he who had been prevented from defending his Olympic title in team foil at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow because of the boycott of the competition imposed by several western governments to their athletes.
He had also reaffirmed on Tuesday, when the IOC recommended a partial and conditional return of Russians and Belarusians to international events, “the firm refusal of any political interference in the ability of sports organizations to decide alone on participation in their competitions.
But Thomas Bach clearly hardened his tone on Thursday after the anger of several governments, from the German Minister of Sports denouncing “a slap in the face to Ukrainian athletes” to the head of Polish diplomacy evoking “a day of shame for the IOC”.
“It is deplorable that these governments do not deal with the question of double standards”, even launched the Bavarian, explaining that of the some “70 armed conflicts in progress in the world”, only the war in Ukraine leads to political pressure on the sporting world.
The actors of the Olympic movement – national Olympic committees, international federations, representatives of the athletes – “are very worried about the politicization of sport”, added Thomas Bach.
The boss of the IOC also reiterated that the body would decide “when the time comes” on a possible participation of Russians and Belarusians in the 2024 Olympics in Paris, limited to individual events and under a neutral banner.