User talk:IOC suspends Olympic Committee for 'unauthorized incorporation of Ukrainian organization'

Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) headquarters in Moscow.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has decided to suspend the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) as a National Olympic Committee (NOC).

The IOC announced the decision to suspend the ROC at its Executive Board meeting ahead of its 141st Session in Mumbai, India. The suspension is effective immediately.

The IOC explained that following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February last year, the ROC violated the Olympic Charter by unauthorizedly incorporating the Olympic committees of four Ukrainian regions - Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhia - into its own organization.

After Russia annexed the four Ukrainian regions and declared them its territory, the ROC absorbed and integrated 22 sports organizations in the Donetsk region in an attempt to accelerate their integration into Russian sport, prompting a backlash from the Ukrainian and international sports community.

The IOC noted that the ROC's merger of four regional sports organizations under the jurisdiction of the Ukrainian NOC infringed the authority of the Ukrainian NOC and violated the Olympic Charter.

As a result of the IOC's decision, the ROC cannot act as a National Olympic Committee and will no longer receive financial support from the IOC.

However, the decision does not affect the ability of athletes from Russia and Belarus, two countries that helped Russia invade Ukraine, to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2026 Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Games, the IOC added.

In March this year, the IOC cleared the way for athletes from both countries who are not part of the military to compete at the 2024 Paris Games as individuals in neutral organizations. Neutral organizations are not allowed to use the Russian and Belarusian flags or anthems.

However, there have been calls to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing in the Olympics, even as part of a neutral organization, so the IOC is reserving a final decision.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the IOC's decision, saying it reflected "the need for universal respect for the UN Charter and the territorial integrity of states," and that "Russia's plan to use sports and the Olympics as a weapon will not work."

Russia argued that the decision to suspend the ROC was politically motivated and would only harm the global sports landscape.

"The double standards (directed at Russia) and the deliberate segregation based on ethnicity are a blatant violation of the rights of Russian athletes and, ultimately, of human rights," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mariya Zakharova slammed. 카지노사이트존