Sport in politics-Australia opposes participation Russia and Belarus at Olympic Games
2023.02.21 01:22
Sport in politics-Australia opposes participation Russia and Belarus at Olympic Games
By Ray Johnson
Budrigannews.com – Despite not being listed as a signatory, the Australian government claimed on Tuesday that it was in agreement with 34 other nations on the call for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to exclude athletes from Russia and Belarus from its competitions.
The joint statement was issued on Monday by the British government on behalf of “more than 30 like-minded nations,” who attended a summit earlier this month where Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy spoke.
Australia was one of the “35 like-minded nations” that agreed on two statements on the subject last year, but it was the only one of those nations not included in Monday’s new pledge.
Reuters was informed by a spokesperson for the Australian Sports Ministry that the absence of Australia was the result of an administrative error and that the government concurred with the sentiments expressed in the statement.
The statement came in response to the IOC’s recent proposal to create a means for athletes from Russia and Belarus, its ally, to compete as neutral athletes at the Paris Olympics next year despite the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
The statement read, “We have strong concerns on how feasible it is for Olympic athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete as ‘neutrals’… when they are directly funded and supported by their states.”
“Also of clear concern is the strong connection between Russian athletes and the Russian military.
“We do not agree that Russian and Belarusian athletes should be allowed back into competition as long as these fundamental issues and the substantial lack of clarity and concrete detail on a workable ‘neutrality’ model are not addressed,” the statement reads.
On February 11, Oleg Matytsin, the Russian sports minister, stated that international calls to exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes from the Olympics were an “unacceptable” interference in the operations of independent sports organizations.
Since the Russian Athletics Federation was banned by World Athletics in 2015 for systematic doping, Russian track and field athletes have been able to participate in the two most recent Summer Olympics as Authorized Neutral Athletes.
Since the invasion of Ukraine last year, athletes from Belarus and Russia have been permitted to compete in a similar manner by other international sports federations.
If Russian and Belarusian athletes participate in the Paris Games, Ukraine has threatened to withdraw.
The IOC is concerned about a return to the Cold War, when a series of Olympic Games boycotts threatened the movement’s existence.
Last year, the 35 nations issued two statements in which they demanded the exclusion of all Russian and Belarusian athletes from international competition.
The second also outlined the requirements that these athletes would need to meet in order for sports federations to allow them to compete. These requirements included a ban on flags and anthems as well as any public declarations of support for the war.
The statement from Monday came to a close with the following: “We also note that Russia and Belarus have it in their own hands to pave the way for their athletes’ full return to the international sports community, namely by ending the war they started.”
