Sports officials from 36 countries protest Belarus’, Russia’s athletes participation

May 5, BPN. Russia should not be able to use sport to legitimize its “barbaric and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine,” nor should Belarus be able to legitimize its “complicity in Russia’s war,” says a joint statement by sports ministers from 36 countries.

Noting the recent recommendations by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on the return of neutral athletes to competitions, the signatories said that the IOC failed to address some of the “substantial issues,” including potential military ties of athletes and state funding.

Sports officials stressed their commitment to fair competition and adherence to the Olympic Charter which prohibits discrimination. They stressed the need to ensure “that Russian and Belarusian athletes are in no way appearing as representatives of their states.”

“While fully respecting the autonomy of sporting organizations, we will closely watch the implementation of the recommendations by the IOC and international sports federations over the coming weeks,” the statement says. “If these issues are not addressed, we would expect the IOC to reconsider its approach.”

Officials of Australia, Canada, Estonia, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Norway, Poland, South Korea, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States have signed the statement among others.