Russian sports minister reacts to IOC banning call
The International Olympic Committee's (IOC) call for the sporting schedule to be pulled from Russia and the national flag and anthem to be banned from events would violate the rights of athletes, the country's sports minister, Oleg Matytsin, has said.
In a statement on Friday, the IOC told International Sports Federations to take strong action against Russia following the invasion of Ukraine, as well as applying the same punishments to Belarus.
The committee's Executive Board wants the sanctions in addition to measures already imposed by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) against Russia as part of a ruling in 2019 ordering the country to compete under a neutral banner and without its national anthem.
Leaders emphasized that they had no events in Russia or Belarus planned and voiced concerns over the safety of athletes, adding that they aim to co-ordinate "humanitarian assistance" in Ukraine.
IOC Executive Board urges all International Federations to relocate or cancel their sports events currently planned in Russia or Belarushttps://t.co/w3zJFhiWpc
— IOC MEDIA (@iocmedia) February 25, 2022
“We met with great disappointment the decision of the IOC," Matytsin was quoted to have said by Match TV.
"We consider these recommendations inadequate in relation to Russian sports. In our opinion, their implementation will lead to a violation of the rights of Russian athletes.
"We consider it important for the International Olympic Committee to remain the guarantor of the unity of the international sports movement and to prevent the politicization of sports.
"The Ministry of Sports is constantly in touch with sports federations. We will protect the rights of our athletes, which are our absolute priority.”
Although Russian athletes will be allowed to compete at the Paralympic Games in Beijing, which begin on March 4, the IOC announcement came at the end of a week of escalating sporting sanctions against Russia.
UEFA's decision to switch the Champions League final in May from St. Petersburg to Paris was the most high-profile of those, and the European football administrative body also said that Russian national and club teams will be required to play home games in neutral settings.
Valeri Karpin's national team will have to play a home World Cup 2022 playoff match in March away from Russia, with opponents Poland claiming they are unwilling to fulfil the fixture because of the military operation in Ukraine.
The IOC said it had set up a taskforce to work with members of the Olympic community in Ukraine and would be "closely monitoring" developments.
