Commonwealth Games 2022: Olympic Federation of Ireland hits out at Northern Ireland gymnasts' ban

The Olympic Federation of Ireland (OFI) has joined calls for the Federation International de Gymnastique (FIG) to reverse its decision to block Northern Ireland gymnasts from competing at this year's Commonwealth Games.

Rhys McClenaghan, Eamon Montgomery and Ewan McAteer have been told they cannot compete in Birmingham because they represent Ireland in FIG events.

Commonwealth Games NI have labelled the ruling as "incomprehensible" and vowed to appeal the decision, while 2018 gold medallist McClenaghan has also spoken out against the ban.

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The Olympic Federation of Ireland (OFI) Athletes’ Commission voiced its disappointment at the ruling.

In a statement , the OFI said: "The Olympic Federation of Ireland (OFI) Athletes’ Commission is disappointed to learn of the decision by Federation International de Gymnastique (FIG), whereby Northern Irish athletes, including Olympian Rhys McClenaghan, have been informed of their ineligibility to represent Northern Ireland at the Commonwealth Games later this year and calls for review and reversal of this decision.

"Rhys McClenaghan is from Northern Ireland, is the 2018 Commonwealth Games Champion, and competed for Ireland in the Tokyo Olympics.

"Besides the relevance of the Good Friday agreement for the people of Northern Ireland, the FIG is out of line with other sports on this matter where athletes from Northern Ireland can choose to represent either Team Ireland or Team GB internationally, as well as representing Northern Ireland at Commonwealth Games.

"This principle is accepted fully by both Gymnastics Ireland and British Gymnastics as well as the Olympic Federation of Ireland across all sports.

"At the