IOC expels two Belarusian Olympic officials

The International Olympic Committee on Friday said it's stripped two Belarusian Olympic officials of their accreditation.

Those coaches withdrew sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya from the Tokyo Games, and attempted to force her return home last weekend.

The Committee on Friday said the coaches have since been removed from the Olympic Village.

Japan's Foreign Ministry condemned the situation on Friday as 'unjust' while IOC President Thomas Bach called the situation 'deplorable'.

"I think we have shown clearly in our immediate reaction in this deplorable case of Krystsina Tsimanouskaya. We are happy she is safe in Poland, that she is, as far as we heard, together with her immediately family, with her husband and child."

Belarus' own Olympic Committee on Friday said their two officials would soon return to the capital Minsk, and that they would appeal the decision, according to Belarusian state-run media.

Speaking with Reuters exclusively in the Polish capital Warsaw on Thursday, Tsimanouskaya said that the order to send her home came from 'high up' in her home country.

The situation has thrown Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko back under international scrutiny.

He is already under Western sanctions after a crackdown on his opponents last year.

The country has seen more than a year of protests demanding his resignation.

Lukashenko's spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.