Ukraine’s sports minister warns against boycotting 2024 Olympics in response to participating Russians
Ukraine’s acting Youth and Sports Minister, Matviy Bidnyi, has warned against boycotting the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris in an interview with BBC Ukraine published on Dec. 28.
The International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) decision to invite athletes from Russia and Belarus as neutral competitors has once again raised the issue of boycotting the Olympics.
"First of all, we do not use the word boycott as such. We say that this is our position: we will not participate in the competition if athletes who support Russian aggression, who support this bloody regime, are allowed to participate. This is a matter of principle for us,” Bidnyi said.
“We will analyze what will happen, how the IOC will react to the arguments we are now presenting, to our appeals, petitions, speeches, etc.”
Read also: Ukraine may boycott 2024 Olympics over IOC's encouraging approach to Russian and Belarusian athletes
“But again, we understand that this [boycott of the Olympics] will be, in principle, a blow to our athletes. We are also aware that we are taking a risk.”
“The Olympic Charter provides for sanctions for such actions and it is possible that we will be offered to participate in the next Olympic Games as neutrals So this is quite a radical step.”
Ukraine is considering boycotting the 2024 Paris Olympics over concerns about the IOC's encouraging approach to Russian and Belarusian athletes, Bidnyi said in a previous interview.
The IOC decided on Dec. 8 to allow athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete under a neutral flag, setting out several requirements.
The decision highlighted how the IOC was "condoning murderers," and that the IOC had given Russia the green light to use the Olympics as a weapon, said Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
Following the decision, the Czech magazine Reflex created uniform options for Russian and Belarusian athletes — a neutral white covered in red blood.
Read also: Neural network generates 'Russia's 2024 Olympic uniforms design'
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
