Olympic body calls for Russia, Belarus to be excluded from all sports

By AP 28 February 2022, 6:00 pm

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A view of the St. Petersburg Stadium prior to the Confederations Cup, Group A soccer match between Russia and New Zealand, Saturday, June 17, 2017. Russia has been stripped of hosting the Champions League final by UEFA with St. Petersburg replaced by Paris after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The men's final will still be held on May 28 but now at the 80,000-seat Stade de France after the decision by UEFA's executive committee. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, File)

GENEVA (AP) — In a sweeping move to isolate and condemn Russia after invading Ukraine, the International Olympic Committee is urging sports bodies to exclude the country’s athletes and officials from international events.

The IOC says it was needed to “protect the integrity of global sports competitions and for the safety of all the participants.”

The decision opened the way for FIFA, the governing body of soccer, to exclude Russia from a World Cup qualifying playoff match on March 24. Poland has refused to play the scheduled game against Russia.

The Olympic body’s call also applied to athletes and officials from Belarus, which has abetted Russia’s invasion by allowing its territory to be used to station troops and launch military attacks.

The IOC said it acted “with a heavy heart” but the impact of war on Ukrainian sports outweighed the potential damage done to athletes from Russia and Belarus.