Ukraine denounced on Tuesday “scandalous” comments on a possible reintegration of Russia by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) of Juan Antonio Samaranch Junior, its vice-president and candidate to head the body based in Lausanne. In an interview with AFP last Tuesday, the son of the former emblematic boss of the IOC Juan Antonio Samaranch assured that it was necessary to “re-study as soon as possible the reintegration of the Russian Olympic Committee”, excluded after the invasion of Ukraine launched in February 2022.
However, he clarified that reinstatement would only be possible when “the reasons for the suspension disappear”, specifying that Russia had been excluded for its “blatant violation of the Olympic charter”. However, he called for the “independence and universality” of the Olympic movement and clarified that the IOC had “not taken a side” in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Furious, Ukrainian Ministers of Sports Matviï Bidny and Foreign Affairs Andriï Sybiga denounced in a joint statement on Tuesday the “contempt for Ukraine” of the IOC vice-president. “Such statements demonstrate either the IOC Vice-President’s lack of awareness regarding Russia’s aggression, or his desire to justify the aggressor,” they lambasted. Russia has not stopped its aggression or its atrocities. It continues its brutal war against Ukraine. “.
The two Ukrainian ministers also accused Russia of using sport as a “war propaganda tool and hybrid influence”. “Suggestions of a possible return of Russian athletes to the international sports community are categorically unacceptable and scandalous,” they said. The Minister of Sports added in an interview with AFP that the Ukrainian sports community was “very outraged” by the words of Juan Antonio Samaranch Junior and said he wanted to invite him to Ukraine to show him the consequences of the war .
“If it is a question of indulgence towards the Russian aggressor, we believe that this is not at all compatible with Mr. Samaranch’s aspirations to occupy the post of president” of the IOC, a- he added. Banned as a nation from the Paris 2024 Olympics, Russia was only represented by a small team of 15 athletes, competing under a neutral banner. Seven candidates will seek to succeed Thomas Bach at the head of the IOC in March 2025, including Frenchman David Lappartient.
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