The head of the International Olympic Committee on Wednesday pinned full responsibility for Russia’s sporting exile on the Kremlin, insisting the IOC was on “the side of peace”.
The IOC on Monday urged sports federations to exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, having already urged the cancellation or relocation of planned sports events.
The move quickly led to Russia becoming an international sporting pariah, with prestigious events scrapped, FIFA kicking Russia out of the 2022 football World Cup and Europe’s UEFA expelling Russian national teams and clubs from all international competitions.
IOC president Thomas Bach said that with the invasion, Moscow and Minsk were in clear breach of the Olympic truce surrounding the Winter Games and Paralympics in Beijing.