IOC recommends exclusion of Russian athletes

The International #Olympic Committee (IOC) has taken a tough stance against Russia amid mounting pressure, recommending that its member federations exclude Russian athletes from international events. This also applies with regard to athletes from Belarus, the IOC announced on Monday. Almost at the same time, the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) joined the worldwide demands for the same measures.

In view of “the extremely serious violation of the Olympic Truce and other violations of the Olympic Charter by Russia’s government in the past,” the #IOC also withdrew the Olympic Order from numerous members of the government – including President Vladimir Putin. In addition, the IOC established a solidarity fund for Ukraine’s “Olympic community.” “In order to protect the integrity of global sporting events, the IOC Executive Board recommends that international sports federations and organizers do not allow Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials to participate in international competitions,” the statement said. This was the result of further discussions on Monday, it said.

The Olympic movement is in a “dilemma,” it continued, saying that it is fundamentally “in the spirit of fairness not to punish athletes for decisions made by their government.” But while athletes from Russia and Belarus can now continue to compete, “athletes from Ukraine are prevented from doing so because their country is under attack.” As a result, he said, the IOC made its recommendation “with a heavy heart.” “In this context,” the IOC “considered in particular the Paralympic Games,” which begin next Friday in Beijing. If, in some cases, implementation is not possible at short notice or for legal reasons, it should be ensured that athletes compete as “neutral athletes,” he said. The IOC had previously called for this.

Meanwhile, the DOSB echoed the exclusion demands. “Worldwide sanctions in all social fields are all the more effective the more social actors participate in them,” the umbrella organization announced: “Sport must also fulfill its responsibility and accept corresponding restrictions.

Schalke 04 parts ways with sponsor Gazprom

Second-division soccer club Schalke 04 is ending its partnership with its controversial Russian main sponsor Gazprom. The club announced the joint decision of the board of directors and the supervisory board on Monday. Further information will be announced by the club “in due course”.

The contract of the financially strapped Knappen with Gazprom still ran until 2025. In the second league should flow from the Russian gas supplier nine million annually, with a promotion the sum would probably have risen to 15 million euros per – Season . “The club’s full financial ability to act remains unaffected by this decision. The club’s management is confident that it will be able to present a new partner in a timely manner,” the Schalke team announced.

After Russia’s attack on Ukraine, the Königsblauen had already renounced the Gazprom lettering on their jerseys during the guest game in Karlsruhe on Saturday (1:1). Gazprom representative Matthias Warnig had also already resigned his seat on the Supervisory Board on Thursday with immediate effect.

DFB Vice President Hans-Joachim Watzke had held out the prospect of financial aid to Schalke in the event of a separation from the main sponsor. “And if this then also requires the solidarity of the other clubs in Germany to get them out of this situation reasonably well, then we have to discuss how we can manage that,” the managing director of Borussia Dortmund had said in the ZDF “Sportstudio”.

Poland, Sweden and the Czech Republic criticize

Poland’s federation president Cezary Kulesza called the sanctions by Fifa “unacceptable”. The official elaborated on Twitter, “We are not interested in a game of appearances. Our position remains unchanged: The Polish national team will NOT play a match against Russia. No matter what the name of the Russian team is.”

The play-off match in the Qatar World Cup qualifiers between Poland and the eleven from Russia is scheduled for March 24. The winner of the duel is to meet the winner of the Czech Republic vs. Sweden match afterwards. The Czech FAČR also continues to reject a clash with Russia. “The position of the Czech national team will not change,” the FAČR announced late Sunday night.

The Swedish federation SvFF is also not backing down from its stance. President Karl-Erik Nilsson expressed his “anger” at Fifa’s decision in a statement: “We have already communicated earlier that we do not want to compete under these circumstances – and that will remain the case until further notice.”