It is not for governments to decide: IOC President responds to calls not to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to Olympics

This was reported by Der Spiegel.

"Governments should not decide who can participate in certain sports competitions," Bach emphasized.

"Because this would mean the end of international sports competitions, world championships and the Olympic Games as we know them," he added.

• On January 27, Thomas Bach said that he supported the participation of Russians and Belarusians in the 2024 Olympics, despite Ukraine's threats to boycott the Games. 

• On January 29, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that he had written a letter to French President Emmanuel Macron over the possible admission of Russians to the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

• The IOC responded to criticism from the Ukrainian authorities and the sports community by calling it "slander."

• On February 6, the Ukrainian parliament called on the IOC to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from the 2024 Games in Paris.

• On February 9, Thomas Bach said that a boycott of the 2024 Games would be a violation of the Olympic Charter, and called the exclusion of Russians and Belarusians from the competition discrimination.

• On February 12, IOC President Thomas Bach said that the exclusion of Russians and Belarusians from international competitions is a violation of human rights.