State Duma deputy Vyacheslav Fetisov, a two-time Olympic champion in hockey, said that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) does not exist for him due to the organization’s policy towards Russia. He shared his opinion with him TASS.
“The IOC does not exist for me. Because for us, as athletes competing in a period of serious political conflicts in the 70s and 90s, the World Championships and the Olympics united everyone and warmed our hopes for the future.
Then the main thing was the honor of the flag and respect for the countries. For me there is no Thomas Bach (president of the IOC – socialbites.ca) because he violates all principles with his decisions. “We did not expect any other decision from him,” Fetisov said.
On October 12, the IOC announced the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) until further notice, following the inclusion of the Olympic Councils of the DPR, LPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions in the Russian organization. The IOC also stated that it reserves the right to make a decision at the necessary time on the admission of Russian athletes to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
At the end of February 2022, the IOC issued a call to international sports federations and recommended that domestic and Belarusian athletes should not be allowed to participate in any competitions due to the political situation.
At the meeting of the IOC Executive Committee on March 28, it was proposed to allow the Russians to maintain neutral status if their athletes do not take an active part in supporting military operations. Athletes representing law enforcement agencies and armed forces will not be allowed to compete.
Previously Karpin commented IOC’s decision to abolish the ROC.