Irish Government joins global resistance to return of Russia and Belarus to the Olympic stage

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is facing mounting pressure to revert on any potential pathway which would allow Russian and Belarusian athletes return to international competition in advance of next year’s Paris Olympics.

Ireland is among the 33 nations to submit a signed government statement to the IOC urging them to reconsider any such intention, having announced last month it was open to exploring how Russia and Belarus could compete in Paris as neutrals.

Minister of State for Sport and Physical Education Thomas Byrne outlined his reasons behind signing the statement, several countries having already spoken out against any such move, with Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo among those to oppose it.

Last Friday week, Byrne joined sports ministers from across the world at a virtual summit, addressed by Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, to discuss the IOC proposal.

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“The deteriorating situation of Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine makes it unreasonable to seriously contemplate the return to international sports competitions of athletes from Russia and Belarus,” said Byrne.

“Along with the other 33 countries that have signed up to this important and clear declaration, I sincerely wish that circumstances were different, because sport should be for athletes from every nation competing fairly against each other.

“But we are not in normal times. We are not in a place that justifies the IOC planning for the return of both Russia and Belarus to international sport.”

The Olympic Federation of Ireland (OFI) said it was engaging with all relevant stakeholders on the move to reinstate athletes from Russia and Belarus in advance of Paris, although it hasn’t commented further.

Byrne added: “Pending an improved situation in Ukraine, I urge the sports movement to stay the course and continue to exclude those that are not respecting such important instruments in the international sporting landscape as the Olympic Truce.”

Russia and Belarus have been suspended from international competition since the IOC recommended, on February 28th, 2022, that Russian and Belarusian athletes not be permitted to compete. This is the third ministerial statement to be issued, following on from previous statements issued on March 8th, 2022 and July 4th, 2022.

[ Zelenskiy calls for Russian ban at 2024 Paris Olympics ]

The Olympic Council of Asia has already offered to accept athletes from Russia and Belarus into its Paris Olympic qualifying events. Earlier this month, IOC president Thomas Bach said any boycott would violate the Olympic Charter and that its inclusion of Russian and Belarusians is based on a United Nations resolution against discrimination within the Olympic movement.

Several leading Olympic nations are among those to have signed the statement submitted to the IOC, including the USA, Germany, the United Kingdom and Japan.

The full 34 list of countries signing the statement delivered to the IOC are: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom and the USA.

Part of the statement said: “While recognising the autonomy of sports bodies, given the invasion of Ukraine and its devastation is ongoing, we agreed that the IOC’s proposal on exploring a pathway back to competition for individual Russian and Belarusian athletes raises many questions and concerns.”

France’s minister for sports Amélie Oudéa-Castéra was also among those to sign the statement which comes fewer than 18 months before Paris is due to stage the Olympics.

In response, the IOC said consultations are continuing over defining the neutrality of athletes from Russia and Belarus.

“The IOC appreciates the constructive questions with regard to the definition of the neutrality of athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport, while noting that the explicit human rights concerns expressed by two special rapporteurs of the United Nations Human Rights Council have not been addressed in the statement,” a statement from the IOC read.

[ No talk of Irish boycott of Paris Olympics - at least not yet ]

In the European Parliament last week, a motion condemning the IOC move to explore ways for Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in Paris was adopted on a 444-26 vote.

The statement to the IOC continued: “We have strong concerns on how feasible it is for Russian and Belarusian Olympic athletes to compete as ‘neutrals’ – under the IOC’s conditions of no identification with their country – when they are directly funded and supported by their states (unlike, for example, professional tennis players).

“The strong links and affiliations between Russian athletes and the Russian military are also of clear concern... As long as these fundamental issues and the substantial lack of clarity and concrete detail on a workable ‘neutrality’ model are not addressed, we do not agree that Russian and Belarusian athletes should be allowed back into competition.”