The 2024 Paris Olympics are just a few months away and every nation is busy honing its players. Several major world tournaments have already concluded in 2023, with some athletes already securing Olympic berths. On the other hand, qualifiers for some sports are still underway. In all, the sporting world has already entered the Olympic mode. However, the same isn’t the case for Russia.

The International Olympic Committee got its hands full again with another violation from Russia. This time, though, the IOC has taken a strict measure against the nation. A social media post broke the news of the stripping of a major privilege for Russia. This is the third time Russia has been slapped by the Olympics for a violation in recent times.

Russia faces another sanction from IOC

Russia has been gaining a lot of notoriety lately. While the nation has a history of breaching rules and interfering with regular processes, recently, it has been causing way more trouble even by Russian standards. The ongoing offensive against Ukraine has already placed several sanctions on Russia. However, the nation has stirred things up in the same direction once again. The official handle of the IOC Media tweeted an image displaying the fresh sanctions on Russia as a result. The tweet carried the caption, “IOC Executive Board suspends Russian Olympic Committee with immediate effect.” 

IOC Media also attached its statement with the tweet that stated the reason behind the strong move. It said, “The unilateral decision taken by the Russian Olympic Committee on 5 October 2023 to include, as its members, the regional sports organizations which are under the authority of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Ukraine (namely Donetsk, Kherson. Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia) constitutes a breach of Olympic Charter because it violates the territorial integrity of the NOC of Ukraine.” The stripping of this privilege will lead to significant consequences for Russia. This will also stop the funding it receives as a National Olympic Committee.

The ramifications of the breach of the Olympic Charter

The statement posted by the Olympics further stated, “The Russian Olympic Committee is no longer entitled to operate as a National Olympic Committee, as defined in the Olympic Charter, and cannot receive any funding from the Olympic Movement.” While the stopping of funding is a major sanction, the IOC didn’t entirely bar Russian athletes from the Paris Olympics. The IOC held that it reserves the right to decide what happens to the participation rights of Russian players.

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This comes off as bittersweet news for many. On one hand, this ensures that the players don’t suffer because of the politics in their country. However, on the other hand, this makes the IOC look powerless, as the ‘neutral’ athletes will still be claimed as ‘national heroes.’ Russia has been caught in several cases of doping and its ongoing war with Ukraine also placed several sanctions on it. As the Paris Olympics lie just 287 days away, the world awaits further action from the IOC.

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