21 March 2024 , 22:22
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The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced that athletes from Russia and Belarus will not be allowed to join in the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Even though it has been announced these athletes can take part in the Games, they will do so without competing under the country's flag. This means athletes from Russia or Belarus will compete neutrally for the duration of the event.
This decision comes after the IOC set out a set of specific rules for these athletes to follow during the Games just this week, as the countdown to Paris continues.
And the IOC has now decided they won't "participate in the parade of delegations (teams) during the Opening Ceremony, since they are individual athletes". That said, the IOC did say that "an opportunity will be provided for them to experience the event" - but failed to give any more detail about what this might involve.
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Right now, this will affect 19 athletes with 12 from Russia and seven from Belarus who have already qualified. The choice to not let these neutral athletes join the opening ceremony has caused a strong response in Russia among government officials, who have denounced the call.
A spokesperson for Russia's Foreign Ministry slammed the ruling, saying: "We are outraged by the unprecedented discriminatory conditions imposed by the International Olympic Committee."
This comes as speculation abounds that Russia might hold its own 'Friendship Games' in September, like they did back in 1984 as the Soviet Union boycotted the Olympics. That year, competitors from 49 countries athletes came to Moscow to take part - with a 2024 edition potentially in the works.
The IOC have now made a decision about Russian and Belarusian athletes ahead of Paris 2024 (Getty)In addition, it has been mooted that Russia might try to have their own version Winter Olympics in a similar guise by 2026. In reaction, the International Olympic Committee has accused the Russian government of launching a "diplomatic offensive" campaign to encourage other countries to send athletes to the Olympics.
The IOC said: "The Russian government has launched a very intensive diplomatic offensive by having government delegations and ambassadors, as well as ministerial and other governmental authorities, approaching governments around the world. To make their purely political motivation even more obvious, they are deliberately circumventing the sports organisations in their target countries.
They added: "This is a blatant violation of the Olympic Charter and an infringement of the various UN resolutions at the same time. It is a cynical attempt by the Russian Federation to politicise sport, before going on to describe the events as a showing a "total disrespect for the global anti-doping standards and the integrity of competitions".