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FILE PHOTO: The Olympic rings to celebrate the IOC’s official announcement that Paris won the 2024 Olympic bid are seen in front of the Eiffel Tower in Trocadero square in Paris, France September 16, 2017. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo
The British government has written to Olympic sponsors asking them to press the International Olympic Committee (IOC) over a proposal to allow Russia and Belarus to compete at next year’s Paris Olympics, British media reported on Saturday.
The IOC faced a growing backlash after it set the course in January for competition from Russia and ally Belarus to earn Olympic slots through Asian qualifiers and compete as neutral athletes in Paris.
British Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer delivered the letter to UK executives from the 13 biggest sponsors of the Olympics, including Coca-Cola, Samsung and Visa, outlining the government’s concerns.
“We understand that sports and politics in Russia and Belarus are very much intertwined, and we are determined that the regimes in Russia and Belarus are not allowed to use sports for propaganda purposes,” wrote Frazer.
“As long as the concerns and the lack of clarity and concrete detail about the possible ‘neutrality’ model are not addressed, we do not agree that Russian and Belarusian athletes should be allowed to return to competition.”
Ukraine has threatened to boycott the Paris Games if Russian and Belarusian athletes compete.
The British government issued a joint statement last month with 34 other countries calling on the IOC to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from the competition.
The IOC issued sanctions against Russia and the Belarusians after last year’s invasion of Ukraine but has been reluctant to remove athletes from the Olympics for fear of a return to the Cold War era of boycotts.
Neutral athletes in the Olympics are not considered to represent their country and their success is not accompanied by the waving of the flag or the national anthem.
Most international sports federations have excluded athletes from the two countries since the invasion but some are now starting to allow them to return to competition.
“Considering the IOC’s position that no final decisions have been made, we strongly urge the IOC to address the questions identified by all countries and reconsider the proposal,” Frazer wrote.
“As an Olympic partner, I welcome your views on this matter and ask you to join us in pressing the IOC to address the issues raised in our statement.”
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