Russia is not giving up. Booty and arrogance. “Our country has always been envied”

. But this is by no means a foregone conclusion. “No athlete should be excluded from competitions just because of his or her passport,” announced the Executive Council of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at the end of January, which expressed its solidarity with Ukraine, but also considered – at the request of the Olympic Councils of Asia (OCA) – the possibility of admitting athletes from Russia and Belarus to the Games in Paris. Under a few conditions: that they will perform under a neutral flag, that they will respect the Olympic Charter and that they will not act “to the detriment of the IOC’s peacekeeping mission”.

In practice, this means – – that those athletes who do not support the invasion in Ukraine will be able to compete in the Games. That alone sparks a discussion. Not only in Russia, where the local propaganda raised a cry, but also in Poland, Ukraine and the Baltic states, which support the complete exclusion of Russian athletes and threaten to boycott the Games if Russians appear in Paris, even under neutral flag.

Russian Sports Minister: Our country has always been envied

“We believe that the IOC is beginning to realize that major sporting events cannot take place without our presence,” said Oleg Matycin, quoted by TASS. The Russian sports minister has been arguing for a long time that the return of Russian athletes to the international arena is only a matter of time. It refers not only to the Olympic Charter, but also to human rights. – No one can be restricted from participating in the competition only because of a passport – he points out.

This is not the only statement made by Matycin recently. In an interview with RIA Novosti, the sports minister indicated that this is not the first difficult period in Russia’s history. – Our country has always been envied. The desire to weaken him. Sport was always in the foreground in all this, we were often isolated, but we overcame all such attempts with honor. And I have no doubt that this time we will also go through it with dignity – Matycin admitted with arrogance and arrogance, but in the next sentence he humbly added that he hopes that Russian athletes will they will soon return to international competitions.

Bach does not rule out the possibility of the Russians participating in the Olympic Games in Paris

Will it be so? IOC President Thomas Bach has been sending signals for many months that he would like to see the Russians back with full rights in the Olympic family. Recently, in an interview with “Der Spiegel” – on the occasion of the world luge championships in Oberhof – he asserted that the IOC was still discussing the return of Russians and Belarusians. However, he clearly pointed out that it is possible that both teams will appear at the Olympic Games in Paris next year. – Excluding athletes on the basis of their passport does not correspond to the values ​​and mission of the Olympic Charter – he explained.

This is not Bach’s first statement in this vein. Half a year ago, the head of the IOC made some strange theses during the congress in Lausanne. – This war was not started by Russians, Russian athletes, Russian Olympic Committee or IOC members from Russia. But this war continues. And it is certainly a flagrant violation of the Olympic truce, Bach noted then, referring to the modern revival of the ancient tradition, ie the cessation of hostilities seven days before the start and seven days after the end of the Olympics.

A year ago, however, Russia broke this truce. And this is the third time in the last 14 years, because earlier it did it in 2008, on the eve of the Olympic Games in Beijing, when it attacked Georgia. And in 2014, during the Winter Olympics in Sochi, when it annexed the Ukrainian territory in Crimea.

The Olympic Games in Paris will be held from July 26 to August 11, 2024.