– It is a shame that we do not stand together to stand against such a situation that is happening in the world now. I might be hard-nosed that way, but I feel like it’s a bit black or white. Although it may be a neutral flag, everyone knows that it is a Russian that you are fighting against, says Marvik to news. Next summer the Olympics will be held in Paris and in most sports the qualification is well under way. It has not been clarified whether Russian and Belarusian athletes can compete there, but a number of special federations have already opened up. A total of 31 special confederations have sports in the Summer Olympics. In addition, there is boxing, where the IOC has suspended the International Boxing Association (IBA) and is itself responsible for the qualification and implementation in Paris. news has carried out a survey of the individual special confederations and at the time of writing, 14 out of 31 confederations have agreed to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate under a neutral flag. These sports have opened the way for a return under a neutral flag. The Tennis Association supported the ban on national teams and associations from the start of the war, but has always allowed the athletes to compete under a neutral flag. In football, handball and volleyball, Russian and Belarusian athletes can still compete internationally for foreign club teams. In football, Russian clubs and national teams are banned, while Belarusian clubs and national teams are not banned. In addition, there are a further five unions that have now either set up a working group or have announced a decision within a short time. – Simply wrong for me The International Wrestling Federation (UWW) is among those who have opened the door for a return of Russian and Belarusian athletes under a neutral flag. – If I meet someone who actually represents Russia in the upcoming championships, I’m not sure if I’m going to break that fight, says Marvik. UNSURE: Marvik does not know if he will break matches with Russian athletes if they are allowed to fly under a neutral flag. Photo: Javad Parsa / NTB The reason is that “Tåsenplogen” will show its support for Ukraine. He claims that several of his Russian and Belarusian wrestling colleagues post pictures on social media in which they are depicted with both Vladimir Putin and other powerful leaders in the military. He believes there is no doubt that the Russian leaders have good contact with the wrestlers from their own nation. – It would be simply wrong for me to violate a representative from those nations, says Marvik. – In a way, sport should not go beyond political, religious matters, whereas here there is a lot of politics in the picture. Therefore, there is also another point for not allowing participation, he says further. – In the real world, it is not like Richard Ordemann can also meet Russian and Belarusian athletes in close combat within a short time. The International Taekwondo Federation (WT) opened at the beginning of April for Russian and Belarusian athletes. Then the WC was drawn as the first event they could participate in, a championship which is organized in Baku, Azerbaijan and starts on 29 May. He believes that news’s survey which shows that 14 out of 31 confederations have said yes shows that sport is divided. – In an ideal world, neutral is neutral and no one has done anything wrong while they were banned. But in the real world it is not like that, says Richard Ordemann to news. The taekwondo athlete was in the medal match at the Olympics in Tokyo, where he ended up losing in the bronze final. OLYMPIC ATHLETE: Here is Ordemann (TV) just after the loss in the bronze final in the Olympics. Photo: MURAD SEZER / Reuters – I don’t know where you want to lie down. I focus more on the real world, where those who are called neutral are not necessarily neutral and what they have done behind closed doors may not come to light, says Ordemann. It is not yet known whether there will actually be Russian or Belarusian athletes present in Baku. Neither the Russian federation nor the international federation has responded to news’s question about a possible participation in the championship. – If I am drawn (against a Russian or Belarusian), then I have no problem with that, really. It’s like a normal working day. How it will be for a Ukrainian, I don’t know. I think that is quite individual, says Ordemann. – I think they feel a lot of pressure. A federation that has not yet agreed to Russian and Belarusian participation is the International Rowing Federation (WR). In April, they announced that a working group had been set up to come up with a decision within a reasonable time. Rower Kjetil Borch believes that with the recommendations from March, the IOC has eased the responsibility on the special confederations. – At the same time, the IOC has the power over which sports will be allocated and how many places in future Olympics. There is clearly an expectation that they will include these two states towards the Olympics in Paris. NOT DECIDED: For Borch and the rest of the rowers, it is still uncertain whether they will meet Russian athletes in the near future. Photo: PIROSCHKA VAN DE WOUW / Reuters Oskar Marvik refers to it as a “disclaimer” from the IOC. In the UWW, two out of five vice-presidents are currently Russian. – It is in many ways incompetent and wrong, says Marvik. He claims that Vice-President Mikhail Mamiashvili has pushed hard for it to be opened up to Russian and Belarusian athletes. – I think the UWW feels a lot of pressure from other nations to participate, but that they also have a lot of pressure from others on the board of their special union to give the green light. The whole matter is very complex and it is stupid of the IOC to make a form of disclaimer, says Marvik. Has not made an Olympic decision It was on February 28 last year that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended banning all Russian and Belarusian athletes from international competitions due to the ongoing war in Ukraine. Since then, the IOC has taken several steps towards a return, including on 28 March this year. Then they came up with recommendations related to how international special federations can release “athletes with Russian or Belarusian passports” back as neutral athletes. For now, the IOC has postponed a final decision on Russian and Belarusian participation in the Olympics in 2024 and 2026. – The IOC will make a decision when the time is right for it, at its own discretion, and without being influenced by the results of previous qualification competitions for the Olympics, they stated to news at the end of April. Confronted with the fact that it is referred to as a disclaimer of responsibility to make recommendations to the confederations without them having made a decision themselves, the IOC replies that they do not respond to individual comments. Furthermore, they write that they welcome the initiatives from the confederations and the Association for Summer Olympic Associations (Asoif) to streamline the process. The IOC has previously clarified that it will not ask confederations to change the qualification system where Russian and Belarusian athletes have not been able to participate in qualification competitions due to the war.
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Reacting to the IOC’s “disclaimer” – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcast schedule
