“Why should Ukraine punish its athletes for the Russian invasion of Ukraine and take away their Olympic dream?” asked Bach in a German newspaper The World Cup on Sunday In an interview published on December 22 (English translation Yahoostdecreases Inside the games).
“Not meeting all of Ukraine’s demands does not make us supporters of the war, especially considering that we have demonstrated unprecedented solidarity with Ukrainian athletes since the beginning of the war.”
Bach added that the IOC’s decision will not change the course of the war in Ukraine in a direction favorable to Russia. He once again emphasized that Russian and Belarusian athletes can compete in Paris only as neutral athletes, without state symbols. They must not have publicly supported the war or have ties to the Russian military or other security agencies.
“It shows the whole world once again how we sanction their governments,” he said.
The newspaper pointed out that the IOC’s decision was criticized by both Ukrainians and Russians, who fear that their best athletes will be excluded from the Games due to the mentioned criteria. Responding to criticism from both sides, Bach said: “It means that we have obviously achieved a good balance.”
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2023-12-26 14:44:01
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