International Olympic Committee Urges Sports Bodies To Ban Russian Athletes

On the heels of the Ukrainian invasion, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) urged “with a heavy heart” sports bodies Monday to exclude the country’s athletes and officials from international events.

The IOC said the move is necessary to “protect the integrity of global sports competitions and for the safety of all the participants.”

The decision paved the way for FIFA to exclude Russia from a March 24 World Cup qualifying playoff match; Poland has refused to play the tilt against Russia.

The urge also applied to athletes and officials from Belarus, which has abetted Russia’s invasion by allowing its territory to be used to station troops and launch military attacks.

The ICO added that where exclusion was “not possible on short notice for organizational or legal reasons” then teams from Russia and Belarus should compete as neutral athletes, including at the upcoming Winter Paralympics in Beijing.

The IOC also withdrew Russian President Vladimir Putin’s 2001 Olympic Order, and other Russian officials since.

European sports bodies had already moved against Russia on Monday by refusing to host or play against teams: Finland wants the Russian hockey team banned from the men’s world championships it will host in May; the Swiss soccer federation said its women’s team will not play Russia in July at the European Championship; and German soccer club Schalke said it had decided to end its longstanding partnership with Russian energy company Gazprom.

FIFA declined to ban Russia from the World Cup. Instead, the soccer body said the country’s national team will have to compete as Football Union of Russia. Besides Poland, both Sweden and the Czech Republic, Russia’s next potential opponents, have said they would refuse to take the field against them.

“The Swedish Football Association is disappointed with FIFA’s decision but is determined to continue to work together with other federations to cancel Russia’s matches in the upcoming World Cup qualifiers,” the body said, citing the “illegal and deeply unjust invasion of Ukraine.”

The World Cup is scheduled to begin on Nov. 21 in Qatar.

There’s precedent for removing Russian teams. In 1992, following U.N. sanctions, FIFA and UEFA expelled Yugoslavia from its competitions when Balkan war broke out.