The Headquarters of the International Olympic Committee (Lausanne, Switzerland). Photo credit: Gzzz / en.wikipedia.org (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Oleg Matytsin, the Russian Minister of Sports, called discrimination the refusal of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to invite Russia and Belarus to the Olympics in Paris, which will be held next year. The IOC has announced that it plans to send out invitations for the 2024 Games to National Olympic Committees on July, 26. But they will not be sent to either Moscow or Minsk, Parlamentskaya Gazeta writes.
The Minister is sure that the fate of Russian sports will not be decided by the restrictions imposed by the IOC or international federations. These decisions have a significant impact, but Russia has already prepared sufficient and effective measures against these sanctions, he assured.
It will be difficult for athletes who have always dreamt of Olympic medals, the minister specified. But the IOC decision contradicts both the Olympic Charter and the principles of a unified approach to all states, he added.
Despite outside pressure, the development of Russian sports has not stopped, Matytsin stressed. The BRICS Games, the Friendship Games and the Games of the Future are scheduled for next year. Already in August, Russia will host the International Student Sports Festival.
This is not the first time that such severe pressure has been exerted on Russian sports, Oleg Matytsin added. He has no doubt that, together with the federations and parliament, the necessary changes will be made to the legislative framework to ensure the social protection of athletes and guarantee their participation in new format competitions.
Russkiy Mir
