Friday’s International Olympic Committee call for sports bodies to cancel or relocate all events in Russia and Belarus and to stop using flags and national anthems from these countries.
After UEFA moved the Champions League final to St. Petersburg, and after Formula One and skiing governing bodies pulled upcoming races from Russia, the Olympic body requested the request.
Russia will host world championships in shooting, hockey and volleyball. Russian President Vladimir Putin loves hockey and St. Petersburg, his hometown, is set to host the 2023 world championships.
Russia invaded Ukraine on Thursday, just four days after Beijing’s closing ceremony for the Winter Games. This was a violation of the Olympic Truce. Some Russian troops entered Ukraine via Belarus, Russia’s ally.
This was the third Russian violation of the Olympic Truce over the last 14 years. Russia invaded Georgia in 2008 during the Beijing Summer Olympics and annexed Crimea just after the conclusion of the 2014 Winter Olympics.
The IOC statement indicated a tightening of Russia’s Olympic body position. Thomas Bach, president of the IOC, has been criticized for being too open to Russian doping scandals.
In his closing and opening ceremonies speeches in Beijing, Bach urged countries to “give peaceful coexistence a chance.” Putin was also present at the ceremony and went to China to attend it. He sent troops and other military hardware to the borders between Ukraine and Russia.
Although the Olympics are under the control of the IOC, it recognizes the autonomy of each sport’s governing bodies to organize their events and choose hosts.
The IOC stated Friday that these bodies “should consider the breach of Olympic Truce by Russia and Belarussian governments and give the safety of the athletes absolute priority.”
Russia’s national soccer team will also host a World Cup qualifying playoff match with Poland on March 24, in Moscow. If it wins, a second home match five days later. FIFA is still deciding if and where Russia can play. However, UEFA stated Friday that it could not host any games in its competitions.
Russia will host an international conference of sports officials that lasts for a week in Ekaterinburg in May. This is one of the first meetings in person since the pandemic. This event, called Sportaccord, will likely be cancelled in the coming days.
Despite the fact that the tournament falls within the two year period of sanctions imposed by Russia’s state-backed doping scandal, the governing body of volleyball is determined to continue with the men’s world champions.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport imposed sanctions on Russia in December 2020 for the doping scandal. The sanction was not enforceable because it did not include a loophole that said “unless it’s legally or practically impossible to do so.”
Another sanction was to ban Russia’s national identity — flag and anthem for its athletes and team — at the Olympics and world championships. It doesn’t apply to regional events, such as European championships.
Friday’s IOC decision stated that the flags and national songs of Belarus and Russia should not be used in international sporting events.
It stated that the IOC expressed its deep concern about the safety and solidarity of the members of Ukraine’s Olympic community.
The IOC also provided “full support” to the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) for the Winter Paralympics. They open in Beijing next month. The Russian athletes will compete in the games, but the team name is prohibited as at the Olympics.
The IOC did not indicate its intentions in relation to the Russian team at the Paris Olympics 2024.
Bach has always opposed blanket bans on any nation. However, the Olympic Charter is a set of rules that guides the IOC and states that it is the “authority in last resort” for all questions concerning the Olympic Games.
