Russia Banned from the Olympics: What Can We Expect?
- Written by: The Times
With Russia being already forced to compete under the name ROC, it is now questionable if there’ll be further sanctions for Russian athletes?
Russian Athletes to Face Bans and Championship Disqualifications
Is Russia technically banned from competing in the 2022 Olympics? Will it be similar to the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo? Are Russian athletes still participating in the 2022 Winter Olympics because they are competing under the banner of the Russian Olympic Committee? The current conflict between Russia and Ukraine had made many people question the future of Russia in the 2022 Olympics. So the question that arises is what can we expect?
If there’s one thing that can be said with certainty, it’s that the International Olympic Committee has been extremely slow to crack down on Russia. However, at last they had to come to a conclusion and expel all Russian and Belarus athletes from the Olympics.
Generally, if we gather up and analyse all the information we have regarding this topic we can conclude the following things:
- It was not an easy decision to be made
- IOC can expect legal action from the Russian and Belarusian Paralympic Committees
- The majority of the world has turned its back on Russia
When you mix betting, for instance at Australian bookies, and sports you get a fun and thrilling experience. On the other hand, when sports need to deal with politics there can be many problems. However, one thing stands, the International Olympic Committee has been cornered by the nations all around the world to make the executive decision and ban Russia from the Olympics.
What IOC Had to Say About the Situation?
As you may already know the decision to ban Russia came less than 24 hours after the IPC announced it would allow Russians to compete as neutral athletes with flags, colours, and other national symbols removed due to the ongoing situation with Ukraine. So why a sudden change of hearts?
The president of IOC, Andrew Parsons had a lot to say about this situation. For starters, he said that they were trying to protect the Games from war however that was not possible since entire delegations and teams within delegations were making threats about withdrawing from the competition, not just Ukrainians.
Additionally, Parsons stated that he expects the Russian and Belarusian Paralympic Committees to take legal actions which is what he was afraid of when he banned them from the 2022 Olympics in the first place.
Response From Russia About the Situation
As expected, The Russian Paralympic Committee called this decision to expel its athletes from the Olympics “baseless” as well as “illegal”. Furthermore, the ROC Executive Committee claims that the decisions violate the principles of the Olympic movement and has vowed to challenge the rulings.
The Russian Olympic Committee went on to say that they have always defended and will continue to defend the rights and interests of Russian athletes and that sports should under any circumstances remain out of politics.
Needless to say, with thousands of Russian athletes currently deprived of the opportunity to participate in international competitions, the disappointment and anger ROC has is very well justified.
However, the conclusion is to be done by the IOS. As long as the world stands united in the decision to ban Russia until the withdrawal of Russian troops from the territory of Ukraine, it will remain unchanged.
