In a joint statement by the ministers responsible for sport, the Baltic states and Poland have firmly opposed the IOC’s push to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes back into world sport. Poland’s minister spoke of a coalition of almost 40 states and indicated a possible broad boycott of the 2024 Olympic Games. On the other hand, there was approval for the IOC plans from US politicians.
“We, the Ministers of Sport of the Baltic States and Poland, condemn the efforts of the International Olympic Committee (IOC)”, said Piret Hartman (Estonia), Anda Caksa (Latvia), Jurgita Siugzdiniene (Lithuania) and Kamil Bortniczuk (Poland) on February 2nd.
Poland’s Sports Minister Bortniczuk spoke on Polish state television about a broad front of other states and governments opposing the efforts of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to allow athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete in world sports again as neutral athletes and thus allow them to participate in enable the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Poland’s sports minister: “40 countries against IOC initiative”
“I think that in the coming week 40 countries will take a very firm and very clear stance against Russians and Belarusians starting at the Olympics,” said Bortniczuk and held out the prospect of a clear joint positioning that should take place by the end of next week.
Bortniczuk also hinted at a possible boycott of the games should the IOC maintain its plans with Russia. “In that case we will be part of a coalition large enough that it would be pointless to hold the games,” was he in the BBC quoted.
US government backs IOC move
In his statement, the member of the Polish government assumed that in addition to the members of the European Union, Great Britain and Canada, the USA would also oppose the IOC. However, Washington made it clear in a statement on Thursday (February 2nd, 2023) that it would support the course of IOC President Thomas Bach. Athletes from Russia and Belarus should be allowed to compete in Olympics, but not under their flag, the White House said.
In Germany, the Federal Minister of the Interior, Nancy Faeser (SPD), who is responsible for sports, had strictly rejected the IOC plans and described them as “completely wrong”.
DOSB on IOC line
On the other hand, there was understanding from the ranks of the associations. Andreas Michelmann, President of the German Handball Federation (DHB), said on Deutschlandfunk that sanctions against states are correct, but not against athletes: “If I’m serious about the fact that it’s about the athletes, I have to separate the athletes from the states.”
The DOSB had also informed the sports show that it would support the IOC initiative and allow athletes from Russia and Belarus to participate “under strict conditions”, which essentially correspond to the catalog of criteria set up by the IOC: A start should only be as neutral participants should be possible, no flags, colours, national symbols should be visible and no anthems should be played. A neutrality, as practiced at the Olympic Games in PyeongChang and Tokyo, when the Russian colors could be seen on the jerseys, is not sufficient, according to the DOSB.
The fact that the umbrella organization swung to the IOC line is probably also related to the fact that the DOSB under President Thomas Weikert wants to advance the plans for a renewed German Olympic bid.
Ukraine has sharply criticized the IOC’s move
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) led by President Thomas Bach recently triggered a controversy with the announcement that it wanted to open up opportunities for athletes from Russia and Belarus to take part in international competitions despite the war in Ukraine. This could also open the way for these neutral flag athletes to the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, albeit only under a neutral flag. Ukraine has sharply criticized this move by the IOC – and is threatening an Olympic boycott.
The group from the Baltics and Poland now stressed in their joint statement that efforts to bring back Russian and Belarusian athletes under the guise of neutrality legitimized the political decisions and more widespread propaganda of the two countries. Sport is used to distract from the illegal aggression against Ukraine.
The Baltic and Polish sports ministers further argued that a return of Russia and Belarus could also put Ukrainian athletes in a difficult position. In competition, they may come under additional pressure when competing against athletes from Russia or Belarus, or when facing them and their fans at sporting events.
Ukraine-NOK discusses boycott
The IOC based its position on the Olympic Charter, but also on expertise from the United Nations (UN), according to which athletes should not be excluded solely on the basis of their nationality. There is a lot of support for this in the international community, stressed IOC President Bach.
However, this is now opposed by a larger group of governments. Ukraine has already threatened a boycott in the event of Olympic Games with athletes from Russia and Belarus. An extraordinary general assembly of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine has been announced for today, Friday, which is to discuss a possible boycott decision.