NEW DELHI: The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) dismissed Russia's appeal against its suspension by the
International Olympic Committee
(IOC), a decision that Moscow condemned as "
discrimination
". The IOC had suspended the
Russian Olympic Committee
(ROC) in October last year for violating the territorial integrity of Ukraine by recognizing illegally annexed territories.
The CAS panel, responsible for the matter, upheld the IOC's decision, stating, "The CAS panel's decision is final and binding except for the parties' right to file an appeal to the Swiss Federal Tribunal within 30 days on limited grounds." The IOC had suspended the ROC on October 12, 2023, following its decision to include regional sports organizations under the authority of Ukraine's National Olympic Committee.
The inclusion of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia as members of the ROC was deemed a breach of the Olympic Charter, violating the territorial integrity of Ukraine. The IOC expressed satisfaction with the CAS ruling, highlighting that its decision had been duly implemented since it was taken.
Russia had denounced its suspension at the time as a "counterproductive, politically motivated decision." Reacting to the recent CAS decision, the ROC issued a statement stating, "The
CAS decision
is further evidence that civil and sports discrimination against Russians has reached unprecedented proportions in the run-up to the Games in Paris."
Despite the suspension, the IOC allowed Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the Paris Games as neutrals, excluding them from team events and requiring them not to actively support the war on Ukraine. The IOC's conditions were criticized by Russia as "discriminatory," but the country affirmed that athletes meeting the criteria would still participate in the 2024 Olympics scheduled in Paris from July 26 to August 11.
(Inputs from AFP)
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