The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) announced that Russian and Belarussian athletes would be barred from competing in the Winter Paralympics in Beijing, which begins on Friday.
Protecting the integrity of the games
The announcement comes a day after the International Paralympic Committee announced that athletes from those countries would compete under neutral flags, a ruling that was criticized for not going far enough.
In the last 12 hours, an overwhelming number of members have contacted us and have been extremely open, for which he is grateful. They have informed us that if they do not reconsider their decision, it will have severe consequences for the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games, according to IPC President Andrew Parsons in a statement. He stated that the order was placed to ensure the integrity of the games, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Andrew Parsons stated that they are adamant that sport and politics should not be mixed. However, through no fault of their own, the war has now come to these Games, and many governments are interfering with our much-loved event behind the scenes. As a result, the IPC is a membership-based organization that values the perspectives of its members.
According to Premium Times, members elected the Board in December 2021 to uphold the Paralympic Movement’s principles, values, and rules. As Board members, they take that duty and responsibility very sincerely. They were looking at the long-term health and survival of the Paralympic Movement when they made their decision yesterday. They are adamantly committed to the principles and values that have helped shape the Movement into what it is today.
Russian athletes taking the consequences of Putin’s decision
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has urged the world’s sporting bodies to consider how they should treat conflict-related athletes, officials, and competitions. Russian football clubs and national teams have been suspended by FIFA and Uefa.Furthermore, Russia and Belarus have been banned from competing in any international rugby or cross-border rugby events by World Rugby. The membership of the Rugby Union of Russia has been revoked.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has barred the Russian Tennis Federation (RTF) and the Belarus Tennis Federation (BTF) from competing in ITF international team competition; however, Russian and Belarusian tennis players can compete as individuals. Motorsport UK, the national motorsport authority, has barred Russian drivers from competing in the UK.
The Russian Athletics Federation had already been suspended by World Athletics due to doping violations. However, some Russian athletes were allowed to compete as ‘authorized neutral athletes’ in track and field at the Tokyo Olympics. The list of BBC Sport does not end here, more sports committees banned Russian athletes from taking part in.
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