"Unacceptable": Russia complained of IOC "violating" their right to support Putin and war

Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin demanded that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) change the conditions for Russian athletes to participate in competitions, including the 2024 Olympics. The official called the anti-war stance of athletes from the aggressor country unacceptable as it is a "condemnation of the actions of President Vladimir Putin."

Matytsin said this in an interview with the propaganda news agency TASS. The Kremlin dictator's henchman pretended that there is no reason to suspend Russian athletes from international competitions and ban Russian national symbols.

"The Olympic Charter states that sport should be free from discrimination, with equal rights regardless of religious affiliation, political orientation, beliefs, etc. We will stand by this. It is unacceptable to follow the recommendations of the IOC and international federations when they cross the so-called red line, demanding that Russian and Belarusian athletes condemn the state's policies and the actions of the president. We will never do this and we will not allow the rights of Russian athletes to be violated," Matytsin said.

Earlier, Olympic champion Svetlana Zhurova called the conditions for Russians to compete and participate in the 2024 Games in Paris "absolutely illegal." In its turn, the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) announced that "Russian athletes and officials will not participate in the Games of the XXXIII Olympics in Paris" and threatened criminal cases against "neutral" athletes.

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