Olympics chiefs have been urged to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes – including tennis stars Andrey Rublev and Mirra Andreeva – from Paris 2024 after they were accused of violating rules for “neutral” competitors.
The International Olympic Committee is allowing athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete under a neutral banner at the Games, which start next week, following the illegal invasion of Ukraine two years ago.
To date, 31 athletes have accepted a licence to compete but according to humanitarian group Global Rights Compliance, two thirds of them have violated the IOC Points of Principle – rules Olympics athletes must follow to get an invite – for Individual Neutral Athletes.
They include Tokyo 2020 Olympics gold medalist Rublev, teen sensation Andreeva and fellow tennis players Karen Khachanov and Elena Vesnina.
Jeremy Pizzi, legal advisor at Global Rights Compliance, told City A.M.: “The IOC consistently proclaims that its guiding principles are peace, solidarity, and human dignity.
“By failing to meaningfully apply such principles in this case, the IOC sends the message that you can encourage your country to illegally invade another, kill countless of their athletes and people, and still be welcomed with open-arms on the world’s podium.
Allegations
Global Rights Compliance says that Rublev, Olympics medallist in 2020, has links to the Russian military through the “Central Sports Club of the Army” while Andreeva, 17, has been accused of breaking rules surrounding pro-war actions by liking pro-Putin social media posts.
Khachanov is alleged to have liked tweets relating to Russian military parades, while Vesnina is accused of “liking posts about military feats of Russian soldiers killing Ukrainians and posts displaying the pro-war Z symbol”.
Yauheni Zalaty, a Belarusian rower, is alleged to be a junior sergeant in the armed forces.
Olympics criteria
“I believe most of these violators have engaged in similarly egregious behaviour. In addition, I always caution against focusing too intently on ‘ranking’ such behaviour,” added Pizzi.
“International crimes, like the crime of aggression and war crimes that Russia commits in Ukraine daily, can only really ever occur on a large-scale and systematic level where you have a broad segment of society providing differing forms of support or acquiescence.”
Global Rights Compliance has called on the IOC to reassess the athletes who are named in their dossier, especially those who have accepted invitations to compete at Paris 2024.
When approached for comment the IOC said: “We cannot comment on individual cases and the decisions of the Individual Neutral Athlete Eligibility Review Panel (AINERP).
“It has reviewed the athletes in accordance with the IOC EB decision and the Principles Relating to the Implementation of the Participation for Individual Neutral Athletes and their Support Personnel with a Russian or Belarusian Passport at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. We have nothing further to add.”