IOC hits Russian Olympic Committee with indefinite suspension after absorbing Ukrainian sports councils

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The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) was suspended indefinitely on Thursday after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) found that it violated the Olympic Charter by incorporating four councils from eastern Ukraine last week.

The IOC Executive Board came to the decision to suspend the ROC immediately and indefinitely after Thursday's meeting in which officials discussed the ROC's "unilateral decision" to accept as members the councils in Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia on Oct. 5.

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The statement said the move "constitutes a breach of the Olympic Charter because it violates the territorial integrity of the NOC of Ukraine, as recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in accordance with the Olympic Charter." 

The Russian Olympic Committee has been indefinitely suspended after it absorbed four Ukrainian sports councils. (Michael Kappeler/picture alliance via Getty Images/File)

As a result, the ROC can no longer operate as an NOC (national Olympic committee) and will no longer receive funding from the Olympic Movement.

IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said at a news conference that the decision will not "affect in any way the participation of independent athletes," but it does not limit the IOC from banning all Russian athletes from the upcoming Olympic Games.

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"[The IOC] reserves the right to decide about the participation of individual neutral athletes with a Russian passport in the Olympic Games Paris 2024 and the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 at the appropriate time," the IOC said.

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