“A cynical attempt to politicize sport”
International Olympic Committee (IOC) published Official statement regarding the Friendship Games planned to be held in Russia in September 2024. In the text of the document, the organization stated that Russia was trying to politicize sports by organizing these competitions. The IOC called on the international sports community to ignore them.
“In violation of the fundamental principles of the Olympic Charter and the resolutions of the UN General Assembly, the Russian government plans to organize a politically motivated sports event.
To this end, the Russian government has launched an intense diplomatic offensive, inviting government delegations and ambassadors from countries around the world, as well as ministries and other government bodies. They consciously bypass sports organizations in the countries they target to further highlight their political motivations. This is a clear violation of the Olympic Charter and is also a violation of various UN resolutions.
This is a cynical attempt by the Russian Federation to politicize sports.
The IOC Athletes’ Commission, which represents all Olympic athletes worldwide, opposes the use of athletes for political propaganda. “Furthermore, the commission sees the risk that governments will exploit their athletes as part of a political propaganda campaign by forcing them to participate in a politicized event,” the IOC statement said. The statement was included.
The organization also alleges that the Russian government has disrespected global anti-doping standards. The IOC emphasizes that the same government operates in Russia, which was involved in the doping system that allegedly existed during the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
It also highlighted the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) concerns about Russia’s plans to host the Friendship Games. The IOC echoed WADA in voicing concerns that it would not be held under the auspices of the World Anti-Doping Code, which, according to the organization, raises questions about both the health of athletes and the purity of their results.
Last week, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) expressed serious concerns about Russia’s plans to host the Friendship Games in September 2024. WADA is concerned that the competition will not be organized under the World Anti-Doping Code; This means that the health of athletes and the purity of their results may be compromised.
“The Olympic Movement strongly condemns any attempt to completely politicize sport, especially the Russian government’s creation of completely politicized sports events.
“The IOC calls on all stakeholders of the Olympic movement and all governments to reject participation in or support of any initiative aimed at politicizing world sport.”
“The Russian government’s aggression against me is increasing”
Shortly before this statement was published, IOC President Thomas Bach spoke in an interview. He mentioned that athletes are responsible for the actions of their country’s governments.
“Athletes cannot be held responsible for the actions of their governments. If they support these actions, they are subject to sanctions. “If not, they should have the same rights as everyone else,” he said. Le Monde.
The IOC president also said he was concerned about the “aggressive tone” of the Russian side. He claims that the Russian government’s aggression against him personally has increased.
“We saw that statements were made in a very aggressive tone. The IOC does not comment on these, but the aggression of the Russian government is increasing day by day. It is against the IOC, against the Games and against me,” the official said.
He also explained why the IOC did not impose sanctions on Israeli athletes whose country participated in the war.
“Everything is very clear. Unlike the PRC, the Israeli Olympic Committee did not violate the Olympic Charter. The PRC wants to spread its influence in other regions, and this is a violation of the integrity of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine. They argue that athletes from the LPR or DPR should represent Russia , but this is a clear violation of the Olympic Charter. The OKB put forward the following argument: “You are not punishing Israel, so you cannot punish us either.” But these cases are not comparable. There was no violation in the situation with Israel,” the IOC president concluded.
“It’s surprising to hear such shameful words from Bach”
Chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee on Physical Culture and Sports, President of the Russian Curling Federation, Dmitry Svishchev, responded to the statements of Bach and the IOC. In a conversation with socialbites.ca, he admitted that he was shocked by the attitude of the international organization and its leader.
“It is surprising to hear such shameful words from a respected sports official who is the president of the entire IOC. He has traveled around Russia several times. The IOC President, members of the IOC Executive Committee and other leaders of the Olympic movement are obliged to support competitions at various levels in various sports. Instead Did they see a threat to the Olympic movement? Instead of asking Russia questions, talking to it, they listen to someone – apparently our closest neighbors – and see these competitions as a threat to the international Olympic movement. Are they crazy?
We have repeatedly said that these competitions in no way replace the Olympic Games, the disciplines are different there. If you look carefully, you will see that there are non-Olympic sports there as well.
Either they did not understand the essence of the competition, or this is pure provocation. They are intimidating athletes and federations to prevent the Games from being held, this is sabotage and discrimination based on nationality.
I’m in a state of semi-shock. Bach now has the opportunity to put aside his pride, a mortal sin, and invite him. [президента Олимпийского комитета России Станислава] Pozdnyakov, invite [министра спорта РФ Олега] Matytsin, sit down at the negotiating table and solve this problem once and for all. This is unlikely to happen – but someone needs to advise him. The IOC is turning into a punitive institution that has nothing to do with the real development of Olympism.
They also accused our current government of supporting doping at the state level since 2014. Bach doesn’t even know that our government changed a long time ago. Therefore, this is unfortunately incompetence. Mr. Bach must understand: We are in constant contact with RUSADA and WADA. We held a meeting with RUSADA just 10 days ago and discussed what should be done to restore the organization in the WADA system. We are developing the legislation. Russia’s anti-doping legislation is one of the most advanced in the world. But Bach threw everything into one basket and is trying to turn our country into the embodiment of hell, which is responsible for everything,” Svishchev said.
“If we solve some problems with WADA, others will emerge”
The parliamentarian also touched upon what measures were being taken to restore RUSADA’s compliance with WADA rules. He noted that new demands may come to Russia after the current problems are resolved.
“We met [гендиректором РУСАДА] Veronica Loginova. He outlined to us WADA’s position and the reasons why Witold Banka has not yet reactivated RUSADA. We now have a new law ready that will come into force in the coming days. We have received almost all the responses to this law, including from the government, and we plan to introduce it. It is only the technical issues of relations with WADA that need to be resolved. At the same time, I deeply believe that this can solve some problems with WADA, but new requirements will arise.
I would like to point out: I looked at doping cases for 2023 – Russia is not even in the top 10!
There is not a single country without a doping problem. This is a global scourge. And Russia does not cover up these problems, but detects cases and punishes athletes caught using banned drugs.
There is something to fight for, there are violations. And we need to figure this out. So far, no one can understand who is to blame in the Kamila Valieva incident – but we are investigating this issue. And they are trying to accuse us of the fact that the government supports doping, this is the delirium of a madman,” said Svishchev.