IOC President Thomas Bach directly criticized Russian leaders, telling them that their “blatant violation” of the Olympic Charter was the reason Russia was banned from the Paris Games.
Bach also used unusually strong language to describe growing tensions with Moscow, and he also attacked Russia’s “shameful manipulation” of the anti-doping system at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. He insisted that the decision to allow only Russians who opposed the war to compete in Paris as neutral athletes – without flags, anthems or emblems – was the right one.
Expectations are growing that Russia will boycott the Olympics outright by refusing to send neutral athletes to Paris. And Bach was in no mood for compromise during his speech on Wednesday.
“Every day we see more aggressive rhetoric from the Russian government and officials,” he said. “It is important to note that this aggression comes from the same government responsible for the scandal over the manipulation of the anti-doping system before, during and after the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
“Equally important, the Russian government clearly ignores the fact that they forced us to take action by invading and annexing parts of Ukraine,” he added. “They even asked the Russian Olympic Committee to also annex the parts under the jurisdiction of the Ukrainian Olympic Committee. This is the root of all this: a flagrant violation of the Olympic Charter that led us to take action.”
Bach’s remarks came a day after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused him of “betraying the ideals of the Olympic movement.” But Bach said the Court of Arbitration for Sport supported the IOC’s “fair and carefully calibrated” approach to Russian and Belarusian athletes.
At the same time, Bach also confirmed that special measures will be taken to ensure the safety of Israeli athletes amid the increasing tensions across France caused by the Gaza war.
Israel’s men’s team, which has qualified for the Olympics, may have to play elsewhere besides Marseille, Lyon and Paris, but Bach insists they will be safe in the Olympic Village and wherever they play.
“Since the heinous attack on the Israeli team in Munich, Israeli athletes and authorities have been taking extraordinary measures to reassure Israeli athletes and authorities,” he said. “The same is true in Paris, Marseille or elsewhere. There will be Israeli representatives.”
“For the Olympic Village in the Olympic Movement, we are all equal and everyone will be treated equally,” he added.
