The IOC is ready to return our athletes to competitions. But there is one important condition

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) again started talking about the return of Russia: they offer a neutral status and a tough selection.

Let’s figure it out. Details are in this statement on the IOC website .

1. In mid-December, the participants of the IOC summit proposed to allow Russian athletes to participate in international competitions in Asia. First of all, in order for the Russians to have a chance to qualify for the 2024 Olympics in Paris, although a significant part of the qualifying tournaments have already passed.

This proposal is the idea of ​​the Olympic Council of Asia, but it seemed curious to most of the participants in the summit. The IOC was also interested, but said it would make a decision after consulting the IFs and other members of the committee.

And now the consultations are over – what did they decide on them?Looks like our sport is one step closer to a comeback..

2.  The vast majority of the participants in the consultations came to the verdict:

a) One must firmly adhere to the unifying mission of the Olympic Movement, especially in times like these.

b) The right of all athletes to be treated without discrimination in accordance with the Olympic Charter must be respected. Governments should not decide which athletes can and cannot compete in which competitions.

in)No athlete should be banned from competing just because of their passport..

3. After consultations, the IOC decided that if Russian and Belarusian athletes were allowed to participate in international tournaments, then only under strict conditions:

a) Athletes will compete in a neutral status and in no way represent their state or any other organization in their country, as is already the case in professional leagues, especially in Europe, the USA and Canada, as well as in some individual professional events.

b) Only athletes who fully comply with the Olympic Charter may compete. What does this mean?

Firstly,only those who did not oppose the peacekeeping mission of the IOC and did not actively support hostilities can compete.

Secondly, only those athletes who fully comply with the World Anti-Doping Code and all relevant anti-doping rules and regulations will be eligible to participate.

Individual checks must be carried out for all entered athletes. Simply put –the situation will be approximately the same as before the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchangwhen the IOC invited only individual Russian athletes according to its own criteria.

200 thousand people in Luzhniki. No, this is not a national team match, but a concert in honor of Crimea

c) Should any athlete fail to meet the eligibility criteria or strict conditions of participation set out above, the International Federation must immediately withdraw from the competition, suspend him from further tournaments and report the incident to the IOC for further action and sanctions.

Also, all interlocutors of the IOC welcomed and highly appreciated the proposal of the Olympic Council of Asia to provide Russian and Belarusian athletes with access to Asian competitions.

4. The IOC stressed that the discussions were based on the following documents:

a) Letter from the Special Rapporteur on Cultural Rights and the Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance of the UN Human Rights Council.

This letter states: “We express our grave concern about the recommendation to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials (such as judges) from participating in international competitions solely on the basis of their nationality. This raises serious questions about non-discrimination.”

b) Resolution of the UN General Assembly A/77/L.28: “Sport as a factor in sustainable development”, adopted by all UN Member States on December 1, 2022, including Ukraine, Russia and Belarus.

The resolution recognized that international competitions “should be organized in the spirit of peace” and that “the unifying and conciliatory nature of such tournaments should be respected”.

The resolution upholds the political neutrality of the Olympic Movement and “the independence and autonomy of sport and the mission of the IOC to lead the Olympic Movement”.

in)There was a reference to the situation with the admission of some athletes from the former Yugoslavia to the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.