Oct. 12 (UPI) — The International Olympic Committee Executive Board has expelled the Russian Olympic Committee for including sports organizations from Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine.
Olympic committee officials said the groups violate the Olympic Charter because they violate the territorial integrity of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine.
“The unilateral decision taken by the Russian Olympic Committee on 5 October 2023 to include, as its members, the regional sports organizations which are under the authority of 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 recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in accordance with the Olympic Charter,” the International Olympic Committee Executive Board said in a statement Thursday
According to the statement, “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.”
The Olympic Committee alluded to the possibility of Russian athletes participating as individuals.
“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 20026 at the appropriate time,” the Executive Committee said.
