IOC EB recommends no participation of Russian, Belarusian athletes, officials in international competitions

GENEVA, March 1 (Xinhua) -- The International Olympic Committee's executive board has recommended sports federations not to invite or allow Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials to compete in international competitions.

The decision was announced in a statement on the IOC official website citing that the breach of the Olympic Truce by the Russian government, as well as the Belarusian government's support of Russia, caught the Olympic Movement in dilemma.

The IOC said the executive board made the decision "in order to protect the integrity of global sports competitions and for the safety of all the participants" and that the body was acting with a "heavy heart."

"While athletes from Russia and Belarus would be able to continue to participate in sports events, many athletes from Ukraine are prevented from doing so because of the attack on their country," read the statement, which it referred to as "a dilemma which cannot be solved."

The IOC strongly urged federations to ensure that no athlete or sports official from Russia or Belarus would be allowed to take part in international events under the name of Russia or Belarus.

"Russian or Belarusian nationals, be it as individuals or teams, should be accepted only as neutral athletes or neutral teams. No national symbols, colors, flags or anthems should be displayed," the statement added.

However, the board said that in very extreme circumstances, the board would leave it to the relevant organizations to effectively address the dilemma.

The IOC EB also maintained its urgent recommendation not to organize any sports event in Russia or Belarus, issued on Feb. 25.

The Russian Olympic Committee objected to the IOC, saying the decision "contradicts both the regulatory documents of the IOC and the (Olympic) Charter".

"As a first step, we consider it necessary to send requests to international federations for an official response on the status of Russian athletes and their rights to participate in international competitions due to the fact that it is the... federations that have the authority to admit athletes to international competitions in the respective sport," Stanislav Pozdnyakov, president of the ROC, said in a statement.

"For its part, the Russian Olympic Committee intends to consistently uphold the rights and interests of Russian athletes and provide all necessary assistance to our national federations to challenge discriminatory decisions of the relevant international federations."