Russia supporters in sports – News Insight 

News Insight writes about federations that invite representatives from the aggressor states to competitions, even though sports and politics in Russia are closely connected and many Russian sports stars showed their support for Putin’s regime.

According to the publication, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) reversed its decision on Russians and Belarusians after 13 months, recommending their re-introduction in international competitions on March 28, 2023. However, the IOC shifted responsibility onto international federations to make the final decision based on IOC rules. The decision has put significant pressure on federations, with some able to withstand it while others succumb. Several federations have already voted to allow Russians and Belarusians to compete.

Fencing: The IOC is considering allowing Russians and Belarusians to compete in international competitions again. But the International Fencing Federation (FIE) has decided to permit them to compete in line with IOC regulations, following an emergency congress. 

The FIE's president and a Russian oligarch close to the Puti’s regime, Alisher Usmanov, temporarily suspended his powers in March 2022 due to sanctions, but the FIE is still considered to be under Russian control, according to Ukraine's Minister of Youth and Sports, Vadym Huttsayt.

Taekwondo: Russians and Belarusians can compete in the World Championships as neutrals, the World Taekwondo Federation Council announced. Certification of their “neutrality” will be given in three stages.

Wrestling: United Wrestling World approves participation of Russian and Belarussian wrestlers in international competitions, since its president Nenad Lalovic of Serbia is Russia’s supporter, according to Ukrainian wrestler, Olympic champion, and MP Zhan Beleniuk.

Second application was made by UWW to the IOC to relax requirements for permitting Russian and Belarussian athletes, who have contracts with the Russian army, to compete. UWW will not even screen them for security and military duty. 

Swimming: International Swimming Federation considers IOC's request to allow Russians and Belarusians to compete. A special committee has been formed to make a decision in July 2023.

Tennis, soccer, chess, and boxing: these are popular sports that the International Olympic Committee has little control over. The ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) and WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) manage professional tennis, and Russians and Belarusians can still compete under a neutral flag.

UEFA decided to suspend Russian national teams and clubs in football, but it only applies to official matches.The Russian national team is capable of playing friendly games.

In boxing, the IOC is powerless due to the International Boxing Association being led by a Russian and sponsored by Gazprom. The IBA agreed to let Russians and Belarusians compete under their flag. However, the IBA and the IOC have a strained relationship. 

There is a campaign to ban Russian athletes from the Paris 2024 Olympics due to Moscow's war against Ukraine. The pressure on the IOC committee mounts, and they will need to review the possible consequences of allowing Russians to compete.

• On January 27, IOC chief Thomas Bach said he supports the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes 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 Russia to the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

• On January 30, Advisor to the Head of the President's Office Mykhailo Podolyak said that the IOC, which supports the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the 2024 Olympics, is a promoter of Russia's war against Ukraine. 

• Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says that if Russians are allowed to participate in the 2024 Olympics, representatives of the Russian army will be able to compete at the Games in Paris.

• Wladimir Klitschko said that the reinstatement of Russian and Belarusian athletes to the Olympic Games is a "betrayal of the Olympic spirit" and a "monumental mistake"

• Former coach of the Ukrainian national football team Andriy Shevchenko has appealed to the IOC and called for the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes from international competitions

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

• On February 1, the International Olympic Committee announced that it would maintain the sanctions against Russian and Belarusian athletes that were approved in December 2022.

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

• On February 7, it became known that Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych accused the country's sports leadership of not responding properly to the IOC's decision to allow Russians to participate in the 2024 Olympics.

• 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 20, 34 countries supported the demand to suspend athletes from Russia and Belarus from the Olympics.

• On February 21, the IOC called the European Parliament's resolution demanding the suspension of Russians and Belarusians from international competitions contrary to the mission of the Olympic Games.