Ukraine Once Again Calls On IOC To Strip Russian, Belarusian Wrestlers Of Olympic Licenses

(MENAFN- UkrinForm) Minister for Youths and Sports Matvyi Bidnyi, President of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, Vadym Gutzeit, and President of the Wrestling Association of Ukraine, Yuriy Kopytko, sent a joint appeal to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in connection with the qualification for the Paris Olympics 2024 of representatives from the Russian Federation and Belarus, who openly support Russia's war on Ukraine.

As the press service of the Ministry of Youths and Sports informs, the Russian Wrestling Federation has named the athletes who will take part in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, Ukrinform reports.

Ukrainian sports institutions, in turn, drew IOCs attention to the fact that the mentioned athletes endorse Russia's war against Ukraine and the general policy of the Russian dictator, thus failing to meet the criteria for obtaining the status of an individual neutral athlete (AIN). Among these athletes are Dinara Kudayeva, Natalia Malysheva, Olga Khoroshavtseva, and Irina Kurachkina.

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The appeal mentions the facts of these athletes supporting Russia's war effort and asks the IOC to take thie evidence into account, ensuring that Russian and Belarusian athletes who are members of military units or supporters of Russia's war against Ukraine are prevented from participating in the Olympics.

Separately, the NOC expresses gratitude to watchers for the additional evidence of violations of neutrality conditions by the specified athletes.

The appeal also reiterates that the entire Russian and Belarusian sports community is an instrument of the government policy of the aggressor states, and athletes holding Russian or Belarusian citizenship cannot meet sufficient criteria for acquiring the status of individual neutral athlete (AIN). This undermines the foundations of the international sports community and calls into question the fairness and impartiality of competitions.

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"Ukraine's position remains unwavering: as long as the Russian troops, with the support of the Belarusian government, wage their brutal war against the Ukrainian people, a ban is needed on the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in any international competitions in any capacity," reads the address to the IOC.

The Paris Olympics will kick off on July 26.

Photo: NOC of Ukraine

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