«Bach, come and see what the Russian bombs are doing»- Corriere.it

We know how often tyrants try to bend sport to their ideological interests. Of course, any neutral flag flown by Russian athletes would be bloodstained. I invite Mr. Bach to our bomb-ravaged Bakhmut so that he can see for himself that neutrality does not exist. With these words addressed Friday night to the president of the IOC Thomas Bach, Volodymyr Zelensky has closed all negotiations on the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the Paris 2024 Games
and put the number one in world sport in a corner. Next Friday the Ukrainian Olympic Committee, meeting in an extraordinary session, will formally put to the vote a sensational boycott of the Olympics if the IOC does not immediately close the doors to the option.

That of the individual and neutral participation of Russians and Belarusians is a proposal that Bach has been reiterating for months, in a more or less soft way. In December, the president of the IOC began by explaining that no athlete must be banned from the Games because of his passport because sport must never be involved in political affairsin the following weeks, on the one hand, he softened the tone by stating that only athletes who had never been involved in support actions in the war would be accepted, on the other, he raised his voice, distrusting national governments to decide autonomously which athletes can participate and which cannot, a task exclusive prerogative of the IOC.

In support of his thesis, Bach explained that he had found broad support for the policy of openness towards Russia and Belarus among his international interlocutors without specifying who it was. Among them were certainly French President Macron, terrified of hosting conflicting and underpowered Games
but also the members of the Asian Olympic Council which represents 45 nations and has offered to organize events that allow the athletes of the two nations (to which very few countries would grant an entry visa to compete) to obtain the minimum qualifications.

Zelensky’s words did not make Bach retreat an inch. Exclude Russians and Belarusians because of their passport or place of birth, the President said on German TV yesterday zdf — a violation of human rights. We are talking about individual athletes competing in a neutral form, the sanctions against these countries will remain. The Games must unite and not encourage another division. Moreover, it was Bach himself in the past who ratified the ban on athletes first due to the problems of endemic doping and then because of the conflict.

The IOC’s policy risks putting the eve of Paris 2024 in serious crisis. The sports governments of Denmark and Norway have already said they will join the boycott announced yesterday by Zhan Beleniuk, Olympic gold medalist in Tokyo 2020 wrestling and a member of the Ukrainian parliament; Finland’s Olympic Committee split in two. Ireland would also be among those in favor, while Australia yesterday evening confirmed its unwavering support for Ukraine and is awaiting a response from Great Britain.