Nordic Olympic Committees call for extended Russia ban
Olympic Committees From Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Iceland have released a joint statement demanding that Russia is further frozen out of the international sporting fold.
Russian teams, clubs and athletes have been excluded from most sports since the International Olympic Committee (IOC) made a recommendation for such action to be taken as a response to the military operation in Ukraine.
On Friday, Nordic Olympic Committees, Paralympic Committees and Sports Confederations concluded their two-day annual meeting in Oslo, releasing a statement on what they called “escalating Russian aggression in Ukraine”.
The group said it found the “Russian invasion of Ukraine to be a blatant breach of international law” which makes it “unacceptable to open up for Russian and Belarusian international sports participation”.
“We stand firmly in our position. Now is not the right time to consider their return,” it added.
“We call upon the Olympic and Paralympic Movement and all international sports organizations to continue to show solidarity with the Ukrainian people and the demand for peace.
“We give our full support to the recommendations of no participation of any Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials in international sports,” the statement concluded.
The Nordic group’s call comes after Ukraine national football team captain Andrey Yarmolenko claimed that “Russian football, all Russian sports, the whole country, should be isolated from the rest of the world.”
“We are in favor of isolating them from the whole world. I will be glad if they are excluded from all competitions, not only football,” Yarmolenko added.
Earlier that day, Euro 2024 was added to the growing list of tournaments that Russia has been expelled from after UEFA confirmed the men’s national team won’t be allowed to participate in the qualification phase, following demands by the German Interior Minister, Nancy Faeser.
