Fears a boycott: Media reveals IOC's unexpected plans to allow Russia to join 2024 Olympics

Russian athletes in team sports may not be allowed to participate in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, while individual athletes will have to meet certain criteria and will be able to compete. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is considering this concept with federations.

This was reported by the British tabloid Daily Mail. According to it, it is proposed to ban Russians from participating in handball, football, and volleyball competitions, meaning that representatives of the aggressor country will not even participate in qualifying tournaments. It is interesting to note that the Russian women's volleyball team won silver at the 2020 Olympic Games.

The IOC is also considering the possibility of suspending Russian athletes guilty of war crimes, as well as those who actively support the invasion of Ukraine and are related to the Russian army. At the same time, the IOC fears that even such a decision would trigger a wave of criticism and increase the threat of a boycott of the Games in Paris by Ukraine and its allies.

On January 25, the IOC issued a new statement on the suspension of athletes from Russia and Belarus, in which it noted that it was ready to consider the return of athletes from these countries to international competitions. However, the athletes must meet certain criteria, including not supporting the war in Ukraine.

As OBOZREVATEL previously reported, Russian world hurdles champion Sergey Shubenkov, who mocked Ukrainian Yaroslava Maguchikh, said that Russia would go to the 2024 Olympics "somehow through one place".

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