Why are Russia and Belarus banned from international sport?
Britain’s Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer’s call on Tuesday followed the release of criteria by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on the issue last month. These guidelines outlined how global sports federations might consider the readmission of athletes from Russia and its ally Belarus.
The IOC has not yet made a decision on the 2024 Olympics to be held in Paris.
So why are Russia and Belarus currently banned from international sport? Here’s what you need to know.
What rules led to the ban on Russia and Belarus?
Russia and Belarus remain unable to organize international sporting events on their territory after Ukraine’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Belarus, a close ally of Russia, has supported its eastern neighbor in the invasion.
No Russian or Belarusian flags, anthems or other symbols of these countries may be displayed at international sporting events or meetings.
Here are some of the top international sports boycotts by Russia and Belarus amid the Ukraine war:
• Manchester United sold the Russian fleet of national carrier Aeroflot, which has been one of its commercial partners since 2013, in February 2022.
• Premier League club Everton ended their sponsorship deals with companies partly owned by Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov in March 2022. The Uzbekistan-born billionaire is a close business partner of Everton’s controlling shareholder Farhad Moshiri. He has been involved in several multi-million dollar sponsorship deals with the club.
• In March 2022, the World Athletics Council banned all athletes from Russia and Belarus from participating in World Athletics Series events “with immediate effect”.
• Fifa and Uefa suspended all Russian national and club teams from their competitions “until further notice” in February 2022.
• In March 2022, the Executive Board of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) banned Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in the 2022 Paralympic Winter Games in Beijing.
• The International Basketball Federation [Fiba] announced in April 2023 that the Russian men’s basketball team would not be allowed to participate in the prequalifying tournament for the 2024 Olympic Games.
• The Badminton World Federation (BWF) has maintained its ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes participating in international tournaments, the governing body announced in April 2023.
• GB Boxing announced in April 2023 that it would not enter any teams at the IBA Men’s World Championships, which begin later that month in Uzbekistan. This follows ongoing concerns about the future of boxing as an Olympic sport and the participation of Russian and Belarusian teams in world championships. GB Boxing also boycotted the women’s world championships in February.
What happened to the ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes from playing tennis at Wimbledon?
In 2022, the All England Club banned Russian and Belarusian players from playing at Wimbledon amid the Ukraine war.
This meant that high-profile players like Daniil Medvedev, who won the US Open men’s singles title in 2021, and Aryna Sabalenka, who won the Australian Open women’s singles crown in 2023, were absent from the London showpiece.
The UK’s national tennis governing body, the Lawn Tennis Association, also banned Russians and Belarusians from attending its events at Queen’s Club, Eastbourne, Surbiton, Nottingham and Ilkley 2022.
The ATP Tour, the world’s top men’s tennis tour organized by the Association of Tennis Professionals, fined the LTA £1 million (£800,000) in December for the ban.
However, Russian and Belarusian players are allowed to compete on grass courts in Wimbledon and the British tennis tournaments this year. This comes on the heels of the All England Club and LTA jointly opting in March to lift their bans on players for this season’s events.
However, Russian and Belarusian players must sign neutrality agreements in order to participate in the competition.
What speaks against a neutral participation?
In March, Al Jazeera and other news outlets reported that IOC President Thomas Bach recommended to international federations and organizers of sporting events that “athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport may only compete as individual neutral athletes.”
These athletes should wear uniforms that are either all white or solid color and must not have a team logo. Athletes should be prohibited from displaying their national flags on social media or from making statements “that could harm the interests of the competition, its integrity or the neutrality of the competitor,” the IOC document said.
Athletes from the two countries who have actively supported the war in Ukraine or are “under contract with the military or national security agencies” should not be admitted as neutrals, Mr Bach reportedly said.
Ukraine has threatened to boycott the Paris Olympics if a ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes is not respected. Britain has pledged to support the ongoing ban.
They argue that Russian and Belarusian athletes face consequences from the invasion of Ukraine. Some Ukrainian athletes have shared the turbulence they feel when competing against an opponent from Russia or Belarus.
Ukrainian tennis player Lesia Tsurenko said in March: “It hit me in such a way that I had a kind of panic attack. It’s an ethical conflict every time we play them.”
What is the UK government’s stance?
The UK is one of 35 countries supporting the ongoing ban. It has urged Olympic sponsors to support its stance.
Ms Frazer said Tuesday that athletes receiving Russian or Belarusian state funds could not be considered neutral, the BBC reported.
Speaking at a Council of Europe hearing on Russia’s participation in international sport, Ms Frazer of the IOC called for clarification on “far too many unanswered questions”.
“There is no reference anywhere in the recommendations to government funding, which I believe is a breach of neutrality,” Ms Frazer reportedly said.
The BBC said it also called for athletes and support staff actively supporting the war in Ukraine, or those under contract with the Russian or Belarusian military or security agencies, to remain banned.