Olympics 2024: Russia demands "equality and respect" from IOC

Russia is demanding that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and sports federations fully admit its athletes to competitions. The aggressor country has accused the organisations of discrimination on the basis of nationality, speaking of "sporting peace".

This is stated in a statement on the official website of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC). They demanded that the IOC cancel the recommendations to suspend athletes from Russia from team tournaments and allow the aggressors to fly the national flag and sing the national anthem.

"We stand for a comprehensive sporting peace, for preserving the integrity of the Olympic movement on the basis of mutual respect. At the same time, we demand an objective assessment of the obvious anti-Russian steps taken by certain stakeholders and an end to discriminatory practices under the leadership of the IOC. We are convinced that the admission of Russian and Belarusian athletes to international competitions should be implemented only on the basis of equal rights with all other participants in the Olympic movement, without additional conditions, regulations, restrictions and criteria that destroy the Olympic movement and devalue the letter and spirit of the Olympic Charter," the statement reads.

Recall that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has recommended that international federations suspend Russian athletes who are affiliated with the Russian army and security forces, as well as team sports. They should also not support the war in Ukraine.

As OBOZREVATEL previously reported, legendary hockey player Vyacheslav Fetisov complained that Russia failed to "put everyone in their place" and called the IOC's demands arbitrary. He also insulted the world's sports officials with the words "f*ck you all".

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