homesports NewsIOC President Thomas Bach says Russian and Belarus athletes who do not support the war should be allowed to take part in the Paris 2024 Olympics
IOC President Thomas Bach says Russian and Belarus athletes who do not support the war should be allowed to take part in the Paris 2024 Olympics
Speaking exclusively to CNBC-TV18’s Shereen Bhan, at the IOC Headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, Bach explained that the IOC has devised a formula as per which players who have no links to the Russian and Belarusian military and other Government services will be permitted to play in the Games in an individual capacity.
The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris is less than a year away and International Olympic Committee (IOC) chairman Thomas Bach has given a significant update about the fate of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the quadrennial competition. Speaking exclusively to CNBC-TV18’s Shereen Bhan, at the IOC Headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, Bach explained that the IOC has devised a formula as per which players who have no links to the Russian and Belarusian military and other Government services will be permitted to play in the Games in an individual capacity.
There will be no display of the flags of the two nations nor will their national anthems be sung. However, Bach is determined to protect the human rights of players from these countries, who supposedly have nothing to do with the conflicts that their nations are presently engaged in. The IOC president mentioned that this call will be taken despite the insistence of the Ukrainian authorities to cut ties with anyone with a Russian passport.
“I don’t think that a final decision will be taken in a few days from now. But, I think you have a clear indication of the way how we see it with the recommendations we have been giving to the international federations, meaning, no teams and no anthems, no colours, no whatever national identification with regards to Russia and Belarus. But, on the other side, giving the opportunity to the athletes who do not support the war and who are not linked to the military, or to other services that are in Russia or Belarus, to compete as individual and neutral athletes but not as representatives of their country,” Bach explained.
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He added, “This is a system that we now see working in world championships, continental championships, in World Cups and which in the meantime, I think is accepted. The Ukrainian side is not 100 percent happy about this but they have accepted it because it’s an opportunity for the Ukrainian athletes to qualify for the Olympic Games. We all want a strong Ukrainian team in the Paris 2024. Then I come back to the values because they are again at the base of our decision.”
IOC President Thomas Bach with CNBC-TV18 Managing Editor Shereen Bhan (Image Source: IOC/Greg Martin)As things stand, More than 50 Ukrainian athletes are scheduled to compete in the Paris games. It will the country’s 8th appearance in the post-Soviet era and the first since Russia’s invasion in 2022. In February, 2023, Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy said Russian athletes should have “no place” in the Paris Olympics. As the IOC President, Thomas Bach is facing a tough balancing act.
“We have on the one hand the Russian government, who wants us to ignore the world. We have on the other hand the Ukrainian government, who said to totally isolate everybody with a Russian passport, which is not possible with regard to our values. It’s not possible with regards to human rights. It’s not possible with regards to the Olympic charter and this is how we arrive at this formula; to protect the human rights of the individual athletes but to punish the Russian state, the government, for breaching the Olympic charter,” he further weighed on the matter.
Bach asserted that it is essential for sporting bodies to co-exist and cooperate with governments and other authorities in order to ensure a smooth passage of play. He insisted on the importance of constant dialogue and reiterated that the IOC cannot stay immune from external pressures and remain in a bubble.
“You have to acknowledge the reality and the reality is that the world is run by politics and this is the system. You need, in order to get your values across, to get your organisation respected, you need cooperation with politics. You cannot say that we have nothing to do with politics and that we are living in an island or a bubble, all alone. I called it once a lie of the past of some sports officials who said that sports has nothing to do with politics and money. Probably, it’s wrong. We have to cooperate with politics,” Bach said.
“We have to have a dialogue with politics and we have to ensure that politics is respecting our autonomy, our neutrality and in this way enabling us to make the world a better place through sports. Otherwise, if we are getting politicised, this contribution will be gone. Then there will be no worldwide solidarity anymore. Then there will be no rules which apply to everybody in sport on this planet anymore and in this dialogue, you almost have to convince political leaders about it,” he signed off.
First Published: Sept 4, 2023 6:35 PM IST
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