The International Olympic Committee has excluded Russian and Belarusian athletes from the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris. Moreover, it accused Russia of politicizing sport for deciding to organize its own Friendship Games, Le Monde writes. In response, Russian representatives accused the IOC of “slipping into racism and neo-Nazism,” and compared the neutral flag under which our athletes will compete to a yellow Jewish star.
Moscow’s reaction to the IOC’s statements was expectedly scathing, Le Monde writes. On the morning of 20 March, Russian diplomacy accused the International Olympic Committee of “sliding towards racism and neo-Nazism”. Earlier, the IOC, in turn, accused Russia of “politicizing sport” because it was organizing its Friendship Games in spite of the Olympics.
“The cold war of world sport is beginning between Russia and the IOC,” the author of the article writes.
On Tuesday, the IOC ruled out the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the parade during the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Paris. And it has taken a set of measures to ensure the neutrality of athletes from these countries: their eligibility will be checked by a special commission of three IOC members; the medals received will not be taken into account in the ranking of countries; instead of the national one they will have a neutral flag and anthem.
Relations between Lausanne and Moscow have taken on a belligerent tone over the past two days, the author of the article writes. The IOC’s rhetoric has become unprecedentedly firm. Political scientist Luca Aubin notes that so far the IOC has demonstrated a certain form of diplomacy and multilateralism. But he sees the refusal to allow the Russians into the opening ceremony as a strong symbol: this is a key moment of the Games, seen by billions of viewers, and these images will remain in history.
On Wednesday, Russia’s verbal escalation of tensions reached new heights, the author of the article said. Politician Sergei Markov compared the neutral flag that will accompany Russian athletes qualifying for Paris to the yellow star worn by Jews during World War II.
“The IOC is turning from an organization for sport into an organization for banning sport and for political repression. This is how Europe is heading down the path of fascism,” Markov said.
Ukraine, for its part, is watching the war of words between Moscow and Lausanne with satisfaction, the author of the article writes. For months, it has been advocating for the complete exclusion of athletes from the two countries and even published their lists. “The IOC has made it clear that Russia has no place in international sport,” Ukrainian Sports Minister Matvey Bedny said.
All eyes are now on Vladimir Putin, the author of the article writes. Political analysts wonder whether Russia will boycott the Olympic Games, especially since they assume that the harsh statements of the Russian authorities are designed to “increase tensions in order to justify a possible boycott”. And even IOC chief Thomas Bach notes that the Russian president now has the floor.
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