IOC suspends Russian Olympic Committee for listing Ukrainian regions in its members

Mumbai: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has suspended with immediate effect the Russian Olympic Committee for including as its members regional sports organisations from places annexed by it from Ukraine.

The latest suspension will not impact the participation of sportspersons with Russian passports from participating in the Paris Olympic Games as neutral athletes.

The decision comes into effect immediately and will continue until the IOC Executive Board decides to lift the suspension, Mark Adams, IOC's Director of Communication, informed in a press conference after a meeting of the IOC Executive Board held here on Thursday.

"The unilateral decision taken by the Russian Olympic Committee on 5 October 2023 to include, as its members, the regional sports organisations which are under the authority of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Ukraine (namely Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia) constitutes a breach of the Olympic Charter because it violates the territorial integrity of the NOC of Ukraine, as recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in accordance with the Olympic Charter," the IOC said in its statement on Thursday.

After this decision, the Russian Olympic Committee is no longer entitled to operate as a National Olympic Committee, as defined in the Olympic Charter, and cannot receive any funding from the Olympic Movement.

It will not receive any funding from IOC.

"As stated in the IOC’s position and recommendations of 28 March 2023, which remain fully in place, the IOC reserves the right to decide about the participation of individual neutral athletes with a Russian passport in the Olympic Games Paris 2024 and the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 at the appropriate time," the IOC said in its statement.