Several governments criticised the IOC’s plan for for Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in world sport once more.

The president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has slammed European governments’ response to a plan to reinstate Russian and Belarusian athletes to worldwide sport regardless of a ban over the invasion of Ukraine.

“It is deplorable to see that some governments do not want to respect the majority within the Olympic movement and all stakeholders, nor the autonomy of sport,” Thomas Bach informed a information convention on the finish of an govt board assembly on Thursday.

Governments in Ukraine, Poland, the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic, amongst others, have been angered by the IOC’s plan for Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete once more, saying they haven’t any place in world sport with the battle nonetheless ongoing.

Germany’s Olympic Committee can be opposed any Russian return to sport.

The IOC on Tuesday issued a set of recommendations to particular person Olympic sport our bodies, by which they may resolve to approve particular person Russian or Belarusians to compete as impartial athletes, whereas persevering with a ban from group sports activities.

This doesn’t embody the 2024 Olympics in Paris. A separate determination on that shall be taken at a later date.

Athletes from Russia and Belarus, Moscow’s ally, have been banned from most international competitions final 12 months following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a “special military operation”.

The Lausanne-based IOC’s newest pointers to permit for his or her return to world sport cite human rights considerations for Russian athletes and the present participation of Russians and Belarusians in some sports activities as causes for the choice.

‘Double standards’

“It is deplorable that these governments do not address the question of double standards. We have not seen a single comment on their attitude on the participation of athletes from countries of the other 70 wars and armed conflict around the world,” Bach stated.

Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office and the chief of employees to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, stated in a press release that “Russians kill Ukrainian citizens every day.”

“Hundreds of Ukrainian athletes die defending their country from the aggressor. However, the IOC prefers not to notice this,” he stated. “This is not fair. Injustice destroys the spirit of the Olympic movement in the same way that Russia destroys international law.”

The IOC plan foresees sports activities federations offering entry for Russians and Belarusians at Asian occasions and Olympic qualifiers, as a substitute of them having to compete in Europe which isn’t potential at current.

The Olympic Council of Asia’s athletes committee on Thursday absolutely backed the IOC suggestions, asking just for equity for Asian opponents in any qualification pathway.

Bach stated it was now as much as every sport federation to take the following steps and it will be greatest for governments to not contain themselves with how sport is run.

“It cannot be up to the governments to decide which athletes can participate in which competition,” he stated. “This would be the end of world sport as we know it today.”