With next year's Paris Olympics approaching quickly and Russia's war against Ukraine looking more like a prolonged conflict, Ukraine's sports minister on Friday renewed a threat to boycott the games if Russia and Belarus are allowed to compete and said Kyiv would lobby other nations to join.
"We cannot compromise on the admission of Russian and Belarusian athletes," said Ukrainian Sports Minister Vadym Huttsait, who also heads its national Olympic committee, citing attacks on his country, the deaths of its athletes and the destruction of its sports facilities. Huttsait added: "As a last option, but I note that this is my personal opinion, if we do not succeed, then we will have to boycott the Olympic Games."
The leaders of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania urged the International Olympic Committe (IOC) to ban Russia and said a boycott was a possibility.
Latvia was first to threaten boycott of next year's Paris Olympics if Russian athletes are allowed to take part while the war in Ukraine continues and called on other countries to form a coalition to pressure international sports bodies.
Estonia quickly followed suit. "I think that our efforts should be on convincing our other friends and allies that the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes is just wrong," Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said. "So boycotting is the next step. I think people will understand why this is necessary."
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda on Friday expressed support for the International Paralympic Committee's decision to bar Russian and Belarusian athletes from international competitions, the Baltic News Service reported.
Poland's sports minister Kamil Bortniczuk said as many as 40 countries could jointly condemn Russian and Belarusian participation at Paris in a statement next week but that it could stop short of a boycott threat. He told state news agency PAP that the IOC was being "naive" and should reflect on its position.
The IOC said in a statement that "this threat of a boycott only leads to further escalation of the situation, not only in sport, but also in the wider context. It is regretful that politicians are misusing athletes and sport as tools to achieve their political objectives."
Denmark wants a ban on Russian athletes "from all international sports as long as their attacks on Ukraine continue," said Danish Culture Minister Jakob Engel-Schmidt.
Other national Olympic sports bodies, including the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, back the IOC's efforts to find a path for Russians to compete.
The last time multiple countries boycotted an Olympics was in 1988, when North Korea and others refused to attend the Summer Games in South Korea. The North Korean team was a no-show at the Tokyo Games in 2021, citing concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. The IOC barred it from the following Winter Games in Beijing as a result, saying teams had a duty to attend every Olympics.
Baltic leaders threaten Paris Olympic boycott if Russia allowed to compete (1)
Viimased kommentaarid
Kommentaarid on kirjutatud EWR lugejate poolt. Nende sisu ei pruugi ühtida EWR toimetuse seisukohtadega.
Isn't there a constitutional principle of separation of sport and state? Keep politics out of sports!
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