International Olympic Committee calls for sports to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from international events

The International Olympic Committee has recommended that all Russians and Belarusian athletes should be blocked from competing for their countries, following the invasion of Ukraine. It puts pressure on the International Paralympic Committee ahead of the start of the Beijing Winter Games on Friday, though the IOC has noted in its statement that it might be too short notice to do anything about it — advising it to “find its own way to effectively address the dilemma.” Ad/> The move means that FIFA, which works alongside the IOC, will be encouraged to kick Russia out of World Cup qualifying, with opponents Poland already refusing to play the fixture, and for UEFA to remove Russia from Women’s Euro 2022 in England.

/> All SportsKorean speed skaters do 'Mobot' with silver medals on podium19/02/2022 AT 11:46 The IOC says if athletes cannot be blocked from competition, Russia and Belarus should not compete under their flag — as is already the case with Russia because of its recent doping scandals. The Olympic Order, which recognises contributions to the movement, has also been removed from “all persons who currently have an important function in the government of the Russian Federation or other government-related high-ranking position” — including Vladimir Putin.

In a statement, the IOC says it has had to go against its own ethics by banning Russia and Ukraine, given the movement is usually “united in its sense of fairness not to punish athletes for the decisions of their government” but says the war in Ukraine has put it in a “dilemma”. ‘Your legacy will be defined by your actions’ — athletes urge Russia Olympic and Paralympic ban ‘Totally unacceptable’ — Poland calls for tougher action on Russia from FIFA “While athletes