The Ukrainian government has banned athletes from competing with Russians and Belarusians. The order of the Ministry of Youth and Sports was published in its telegraph channel by the deputy of the Verkhovna Rada, Olympic champion in Greco-Roman wrestling Jean Beleniuk.
The text stipulates that Ukrainian sports federations will be deprived of their national status if they allow their athletes to participate in competitions where athletes from Russia or Belarus compete. Sports Ministry officials are expected to withdraw delegations from these competitions.
It can be seen from the text that we are talking about the performances of the Ukrainian team, and not about individual athletes under the Ukrainian flag. This is not explained further. The Russian and Belarusian national teams are not admitted to Olympic competitions in any form.
In March, Ukrainian Cabinet Minister Oleg Nemchinov said the ban would apply to all Ukrainian athletes. “We have made a protocol decision that we only participate in qualifying competitions where there are no Russians,” he said on the national telethon.
The decision was criticized by the International Olympic Committee. There, in early April, they said it “would only harm the Ukrainian sports community” and raised “serious questions about the autonomy of Ukrainian sport”.
The IOC traditionally prohibits the state from intervening directly in the work of sports federations and believes that the participation of athletes in international competitions should not be determined by governments. The organization pledged support for Ukrainian athletes who face restrictions for wanting to compete.
Russian and Belarusian athletes were banned from international competition in response to Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine. In March, the IOC recommended that they be allowed to compete in a neutral status, a move that drew heavy criticism in several European countries.
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