IOC board suspends Russian Olympic Committee with immediate efffect and ‘until further notice'

Published 12/10/2023 at 15:12 GMT

The International Olympic Committee executive board has confirmed its decision to suspend the Russian Olympic Committee with immediate effect and “until further notice” after breaching the Olympic Charter by incorporating sports bodies in four regions in eastern Ukraine. Athlete participation in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games will be decided “at the appropriate time."

The headquarters of International Olympic Committee (IOC) is seen during a protest against the proposed IOC roadmap to organise the return to competition of Russian athletes under a neutral flag, provided that they have "not actively supported the war in

Image credit: Eurosport

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) executive board has announced it will suspend the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) with immediate effect.

ROC will be suspended “until further notice” after breaching the Olympic Charter by incorporating sports bodies in four regions in eastern Ukraine illegally annexed by Russia since the war between the two countries broke out in 2022.

The decision from ROC, made last Thursday, is a "breach of the Olympic Charter because it violates the territorial integrity of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine".

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The four Ukrainian territories recognised by Russia are Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia.

The IOC added: "The IOC reserves the right to decide about the participation of individual neutral athletes with a Russian passport in the Olympic Games Paris 2024 and the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 at the appropriate time."

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the committee has been under pressure to ban both Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing at the games under a neutral flag.

Although Ukraine has threatened to snub the Olympics altogether if Russian and Belarusian athletes are given the green light to compete, the IOC notified sporting federations in March that athletes from those countries should be allowed to compete as neutrals.

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As things stand, international events are banned from being hosted in both Russia and Belarus, while the flags and national anthems are strictly forbidden.

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