IOC calls for international event ban for athletes from Russia and Belarus

The International Olympic Committee has recommended that Russian and Belarusian athletes be prevented from competing in international events.

In a lengthy declaration on Monday afternoon, the IOC said it was acting with “a heavy heart” as it called for a ban on both Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials.

Related: Russia suspended from all Fifa and Uefa competitions until further notice

“In order to protect the integrity of global sports competitions and for the safety of all the participants,” the statement said, “the IOC executive board recommends that international sports federations and sports event organisers not invite or allow the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials in international competitions.”

The IOC did, however, leave some leeway in its statement. It suggested that organisers of tournaments taking place imminently could take different decisions.

“Wherever this is not possible on short notice for organisational or legal reasons, the IOC EB strongly urges international sports federations and organisers of sports events worldwide to do everything in their power to ensure that … Russian or Belarusian nationals, be it as individuals or teams, should be accepted only as neutral athletes or neutral teams. No national symbols, colours, flags or anthems should be displayed.”

The IOC said it had adopted this condition specifically with the upcoming Winter Paralympics in mind, with the Games starting in Beijing on Friday. In a further measure the IOC said it would remove the honour of the Olympic Order from Vladimir Putin. The Olympic Order is the highest award granted by the Olympic movement and Putin was the recipient of a gold honour in 2001.

The IOC statement came on a day when