Russia and Belarus face ban from Paris Olympics, warns senior IOC member

Russia and Belarus face ban

Russia is dealing with a restriction from the Paris Olympics as a consequence of the intrusion of Ukraine, Sir Craig Reedie has actually cautioned. Reedie, an influential International Olympic Committee figure for almost 30 years, thinks there is little possibility of Russia and Belarus being allowed back soon into international sport. Reedie states most Russian and Belarusian professional athletes and teams now deal with a second problem– being unable to compete in those events where certifying places are on offer for the 2024 Games.

Reedie, who headed the World Anti-Doping Agency when it investigated Russian doping, stated the concern of Russia’s involvement in Paris was now the “$ 64,000 concern”.He included:

 

“I’m scared a decision is going to have actually to be handled what happens to each of these 2 countries. And my guess is that the general feeling would be that they need to not qualify.”

” I think the majority of people are having problem with how we could achieve some degree of representation. At the minute, there is no clear way to do it. For that reason, you keep the status quo.” That was set by the IOC in February when it advised Russian and Belarusian professional athletes ought to be prevented from contending in global events “in order to protect the integrity of international sports competitions and for the safety of all the participants”.

Reedie said that more than 4 months on, that view was still widely shared. The rare exceptions have actually been biking, judo and tennis, which have allowed Russians to contend internationally as people, although Wimbledon set up a restriction. ” However, the problem now comes that approximately 2 years prior to the Games, the qualifying period begins as set by the international federations and the IOC,” he said. “So there’s a genuine issue for the federations, who have a clear guideline which they’ve accepted that they will not welcome Russians and Belarusians to participate in occasions.

” Therefore, on the face of it, it’s unlikely that anybody would qualify other than in those 3 sports which do not do it that method. And will they be able to qualify [from those three sports] I’m not exactly sure.”

Reedie, whose autobiography, Delivering London’s Olympic Dream: A Long Life in Sport– Highlights and Crises, was published last week, said it would be tough for Russians to get in qualifying competitions after they begin. “It’s quite challenging midway through to say ‘all of you who have now qualified, we’ve changed the guidelines’.”.

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