Sports federations must move or cancel planned events in Russia or Belarus, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said, a day after Russia invaded Ukraine.
Russian troops entered Ukraine through Belarus when the invasion began on Thursday. The chief of the Ukrainian General Staff said the Russians were using an airfield in Belarus to line up troops to storm Kiev.
“The Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee reiterated the IOC’s strong condemnation of the violation of the Olympic truce by the Russian government and the government of Belarus for their support of it”, the IOC said in a statement.
He noted that international sports federations “they must take into account the breaking of the Olympic truce by the Russian and Belarusian governments and give absolute priority to the safety of the athletes”.
The IOC also considered that the national flags of Russia and Belarus should not be displayed at international sporting events.
Russian athletes did not compete in the Beijing Games under its flag and its anthem was not played at any ceremony, following sanctions imposed over widespread doping in many sports that was exposed after the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
The invasion of Ukraine caused Russia to lose the Champions League final, the Russian Formula 1 Grand Prix and the ski World Cup trials, among other events.
Source: Gestion
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