The International Olympic Committee on Thursday banned the Russian Olympic Committee with immediate effect for recognising regional organisations from four territories annexed from Ukraine. The IOC added that the ROC would not be eligible for any funding after it recognised Olympic Councils from the regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia but that it would not affect any Russian athletes competing as neutrals.
"The unilateral decision taken by the Russian Olympic Committee on 5 October 2023 to include, as its members, the regional sports organisations which are under the authority of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Ukraine (namely Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia) constitutes a breach of the Olympic Charter," the IOC said in a statement.
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However, IOC president Thomas Bach on Friday said that they will allow individual players with Russian passports. This means that they can participate in the games on their own, but there will be no participation of Russia as a country.
,“… We reserve the right to invite ourselves, individual neutral athletes with Russian passports... These will be direct invitations, which we will manage then with the International Federations, and, if needed, then with the respective national federations. This will make it clear that there is no representation of Russia or the Russian Olympic Committee by these athletes, that there are strictly individual, neutral athletes,” Bach said.
The IOC executive board is meeting in Mumbai ahead of the IOC session on October 15-17. Thursday's ruling does not affect any decision on Russian and Belarusian athletes' participation at the Paris 2024 Olympics which the IOC will take at a later date.
"The suspension of the ROC does not affect the participation of independent athletes," IOC spokesman Mark Adams told a press conference.
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