“We reject slanderous statements.” The IOC is angry at the statements of the Ukrainians, the Poles are next in line

In the West, they are trying to create a coalition against the return of Russian athletes and are persecuting those who supported the idea of ​​easing sanctions.

In Lausanne, they reacted sharply to the speeches of Ukrainian officials in connection with the possible return of athletes from Russia and Belarus to the international arena. “The IOC strongly rejects the slanderous statements. They cannot serve as a basis for any constructive discussion.”according to a statement by the International Olympic Committee, which was distributed by Reuters. Disputes on this topic have been blazing for a week now, and in some places they really take on radical forms. So the Minister of Sports of Poland Kamil Bortnichuk announced the creation of a coalition against the participation of our team in the Olympics in Paris in 2024. How realistic is this?

When the Olympic flame goes out

The anger of the IOC was caused by the words of the adviser to the head of the office of the President of Ukraine Mikhail Podolyak, who called this organization a “promoter of the NWO” (the wording of the change in connection with the requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation). However, Kyiv’s reaction in this case is predictable. As well as statements about a possible boycott of Paris 2024 if Russians appear there. However, the IOC should be concerned not with these provocations, but with a campaign to split the Olympic movement, which representatives of the government circles of Poland, Great Britain and Norway are now trying to organize.

Minister of Sports and Tourism of Poland Bortnichuk, who last summer prepared a letter from the heads of sports departments of 35 Western countries demanding that Russia be excluded from the IOC, this time launched a campaign against the ideas of Thomas Bach and the organizing committee of the 2024 Games. “Poland and the UK are at the forefront of efforts. We intend to create an effective coalition of countries without which the Olympic Games cannot take place,” Bortnichuk said, naming the Baltic states and Norway among possible allies.

Astrid Jacobsen.

Photo Global Look Press

It is noteworthy that the political boycott of the 2024 Olympics in the West is now being talked about not by representatives of sports organizations (which just supported the return of the Russians), but by various politicians and officials. In addition, people who speak out in support of our athletes are subjected to harassment in the media. So the head of the Norwegian sports committee, Astrid Jacobsen, came under fire after her statement that “athletes should not be discriminated against on the basis of what kind of passport they have.” A comment condemning the position of the former skier in the NRK publication was published under the heading “When the Olympic flame goes out.” As a result, Jacobsen was forced to make excuses, claiming that she was misunderstood.

The path to the isolation of domestic sports

Meanwhile, Russia is developing its own discussion about Paris 2024, which views the problem from a completely different angle. A number of sports veterans propose to voluntarily refuse to travel to the next Games, since now they want to let our athletes go there in a neutral status, without a flag and an anthem, and even after an additional ideological screening. Some experts consider this option humiliating and accuse the IOC of a double game, as well as an attempt to adjust the provisions of the Olympic Charter to the political situation.

In the West, they quarreled over the new position of the IOC on Russia. Our opponents seem to be in the minority

“Everyone who is now calling on us to boycott the Olympics, regardless of the reasoning, should be clearly aware that this kind of demarche is a direct path to isolating all domestic sports for at least two Olympic cycles,” the head of the OKR Stanislav Pozdnyakov. – That is, the flag, anthem, our athletes will not be in most of the competitive international competitions for eight years. This is exactly what our opponents are striving for with all their might.

In general, disputes in both camps are now in full swing. However, the IOC should pay attention to the fact that in the case of the sports ministers of Poland and the Baltic countries, there is an attempt to directly interfere with the activities of sports organizations. And this is strictly forbidden by the Olympic Charter and in the past many times led to disqualification at the Games of various teams. In a good way, in the current situation without a flag, the teams of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia should go to Paris, and not the Russians. Another question is that in the current realities of Bahu it is almost impossible to do this. He is now under fire from both sides.

Thomas Bach.

Photo Global Look Press

But, be that as it may, having said “A”, the IOC should also say “B” – to finally explain how it sees the process of admitting Russians and Belarusians to Paris 2024. Otherwise, all statements about the “inadmissibility of discrimination on the basis of nationality” are nothing more than shaking the air. The Olympic qualification is in full swing, and, for example, the Asians have already said that they do not want to share their quotas with us, despite all the moral support. If the IOC is eventually going to let two or three of our athletes go to the Games in France by issuing them a wild-card, this is one situation. And if we go to Paris with a more or less full-fledged team, it’s completely different. In general, Bach’s initiatives are good, but I already want specifics.