Mumbai: The International Olympic Committee on Thursday announced to suspend Russia’s national Olympic body with immediate effect for violating the territorial integrity of Ukraine, Western media reported.
After the development the Russian Olympic Committee will no longer entitled to operate as a National Olympic Committee, as defined in the Olympic Charter, and cannot get any financial assistance from the Olympic movement.
IOC spokesman Mark Adams said the body took the decision following a unilateral action by the Russian Olympic Committee on October 5 to include, as its members, the regional sports organizations which are under the Ukraine’s control namely Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia.
He added that such act violates the territorial integrity of the National Olympic Committee NOC of Ukraine, as recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) through its Charter.
Adams said the IOC still reserved the right to decide about the participation of individual athletes with a Russian passport at the 2024 Paris Games and 2026 Winter Games in Milan.
The Russian Olympic Committee criticized the decision terming it politically motivated.
