The appeal by Russia’s Olympic Committee (ROC) against its suspension by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has been dismissed in Switzerland by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
In October, the IOC suspended its Russian member with immediate effect, for breaches of the Olympic charter.
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This came after the ROC formally recognized regional sports bodies from areas that Russia illegally took from Ukraine in the invasion of February 2022 (the subsequent war is ongoing).
This suspension, which is final and binding – although an appeal can now be filed with the Swiss Federal Tribunal, as long as that happens within 30 days – means the ROC can no longer operate as a national Olympic committee.
In its summary, CAS said: “The panel in charge of this matter dismissed the appeal and confirmed the challenged decision, finding that the IOC executive board did not breach the principles of legality, equality, predictability or proportionality.”
The territories were the regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia.
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By GlobalDataThis decision by CAS follows from the IOC legislating in December that at the Paris 2024 Olympics, Russians and Belarusians – that nation materially assisted Russia in the invasion – will be able to participate as neutral athletes.
This means that no flags, emblems, or anthems will be permitted.
Athletes from those nations will also be allowed to compete at the Paris Paralympics as neutrals, following the International Paralympic Committee’s (IPC) vote to suspend those countries’ Paralympic committees in September.
However, athletes who actively show support for Russia’s war effort against Ukraine will remain barred from participating, while Russian and Belarusian state officials will not be given access to the games.
Ukraine, part of which is still under Russian occupation, had been putting heavy pressure on the IOC to ban Russians and Belarusians from Paris. Indeed, Ukraine had threatened a boycott of the event from its own participants.
However, in December, IOC president Thomas Bach said that “individual athletes cannot be punished for the acts of their government.”
The Paris 2024 Olympics will take place between July 26 and August 11.
