- UK government accepts Russian, Belarusian athletes despite previous stance
- Culture Secretary supports athletes under “strictest neutrality conditions possible”
- IOC’s neutrality regulations will govern Russian, Belarusian athletes at Olympics
Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer stated a year ago that the International Olympic Committee was not going far enough, but she now states that the United Kingdom is satisfied with the competition’s administrators’ proposed conditions.
The United Kingdom government’s acceptance of Russian and Belarusian athletes’ eligibility to compete at the 2024 Olympics has prompted accusations of a U-turn.
In regards to the invasion of Ukraine, Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer stated last year that athletes “funded by their states” or “who are in receipt of funding or sponsorship directly aligned with their states” could not be considered impartial.
Due to this funding, the United Kingdom is a member of a coalition of like-minded nations that have called for a moratorium on such athletes.
However, the government has now verified that it concurs with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that Belarusian and Russian athletes can compete at the upcoming Paris Games under a neutral flag.
Ms. Frazer stated on Friday that the “strictest neutrality conditions possible” will govern the participation of those athletes.
As soon as The Times revealed the position earlier this month, allegations surfaced that the government had reversed its stance on the matter.
Former sports minister Richard Caborn stated, “This is a disgraceful U-turn by Frazer, following her impassioned address to the Council of Europe a year ago in which she argued why the United Kingdom should support a complete ban on Russian athletes competing in the Olympics in Paris.
Ms. Frazer stated in her address from the previous year that the IOC’s recommendations “did not go far enough” and that over thirty nations had expressed concern.
The government has refuted the notion that it altered its stance in response to an IOC threat to prevent qualifying events for the Olympics in the United Kingdom.
Ms. Frazer and Stuart Andrew, the minister of sports, stated on Friday that they are “personally committed to supporting Ukraine against Putin’s illegal invasion.
They stated that each governing body, including the IOC, was responsible for making its determinations.
“However, our position is unambiguous,” Ms. Frazer continued. As representatives of their countries, Putin’s regime has no right to observe its athletes queue up on the starting blocks of races or stand on podiums during medal ceremonies.
“The intention has never been to penalise specific athletes from Belarus or Russia.”
“Athletes competing on behalf of the states of Russia and Belarus are what we oppose.”
“Our steadfast opposition to the involvement of the Russian and Belarusian states persists.” Our policy has never been to prohibit the participation of impartial athletes from Russia and Belarus in any way.”
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The minister noted that Belarusians and Russians have been permitted to compete as neutrals in tennis competitions in the United Kingdom.
She insisted that the government and coalition have devoted their efforts to urging Olympic organizers to “modify their strategy, enforce the most stringent neutrality conditions feasible, and ensure that they are rigorously implemented.”
They accomplished that following two years of coordinated lobbying. As a consequence, the anticipated number of Russian and Belarusian athletes competing in the Olympics is in the tens, not the hundreds.
Consequently, we have conveyed to the International Olympic Committee and IOC in a letter that their ultimate neutrality regulations for the Paris Games establish the universally acknowledged foundation for preventing the representation of Russia and Belarus as sovereign states in the realm of international athletics.
In Paris, the IOC anticipates that up to 54 Russian athletes will compete.
They will be disqualified from participating in team disciplines, from sporting the Russian flag, or competing in its regalia, and their medals will not be tallied collectively in a table.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has deferred to the individual sports’ judgments regarding whether or not to permit neutral competition by Russian and Belarusian athletes. World Athletics, for example, has strictly prohibited their participation.
