Published 26 January 2023 at 19.42
Domestic. The International Olympic Committee, IOC opens up for Russians and Belarusians to be able to compete in the upcoming Olympics under a neutral flag. This is an “unfortunate and untimely statement”, according to the Swedish National Sports Confederation.
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– It is deeply unfortunate and untimely at a time when we need to continue to show our solidarity with Ukraine, says Björn Eriksson, chairman of the Swedish Sports Confederation, in a press release.
The Nordic Olympic Committees , the Paralympic committees and national sports federations agreed in the fall of 2022 to call on all international sports organizations to continue to exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials.
– We see no reason to change our position. That the IOC now opens up to Russians and Belarusians [Belarusians, eds. Note] should be able to participate in the 2024 Olympics shows that various forces outside the IOC want to bring about a change. There are reasons to believe that the last word has not been said on this matter.
However, the National Sports Confederation will not call on sports or athletes to boycott.
– No, not a boycott as it sees it out now. Should the UN and/or the EU introduce binding boycotts against Russia and Belarus that include the sports field, we will follow them in accordance with the National Sports Confederation's guidelines, says Björn Eriksson.