Skip to content
Edit post

Russian Olympic Committee suspended after seizing Ukraine's sporting organizations

by Elsa Court and The Kyiv Independent news desk October 12, 2023 9:25 PM 1 min read
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach speaks on the first day of the executive board meeting of the IOC ahead of the upcoming 141st IOC session in Mumbai on October 12, 2023. (Indranil Mukherjee/AFP)
This audio is created with AI assistance

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has suspended the Russian Olympic Committee "with immediate effect" for seizing control of Ukrainian sporting organizations, the organization said on Oct. 12.

On Oct. 5, the Russian Olympic Committee took the unilateral decision to recognize the regional sporting organizations of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia as under its own authority, despite the fact these organizations legally fall under the authority of the Ukrainian Olympic Committee.

This decision "violates the territorial integrity" of Ukraine and therefore "constitutes a breach of the Olympic Charter," the IOC said.

The suspension means that the Russian Olympic Committee is "no longer entitled to operate as a National Olympic Committee" and cannot receive funding from the Olympic Movement.

The IOC already announced on July 26 that no official invite has been extended to Russia and Belarus for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

However, the IOC has not yet made a decision on whether individual Russian or Belarusian athletes can compete at the Olympics under a neutral flag.  

In March 2023, the IOC recommended that Russian and Belarusian athletes be allowed to participate in international competitions, provided they do so as "individual neutral athletes."

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said on Sept. 29 that Russians will be able to compete as individual or neutral athletes at the 2024 Paralympics.

UEFA reverses decision to re-admit Russian youth athletes
The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) walked back its decision on Oct. 10 that allowed Russian youth teams to play in the Under-17 European Championship.

News Feed

MORE NEWS

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Explaining Ukraine with Kate Tsurkan
* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.