Nine EU countries ask to exclude IOC from funding programs due to decision to lift all restrictions on Russian athletes

Nine European Union countries are asking European Commissioner for Sport Glenn Micallef to exclude the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and international federations that allow Russians and Belarusians to compete internationally from EU funding programs.

This was reported by the Estonian portal ERR.

The following EU countries signed the appeal: Estonia (initiator), the Netherlands, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Sweden, Romania, Finland and Denmark. They also want to exclude the International Fencing Federation and the International Swimming Federation from funding programs. The letter also asks the countries to consider how to include these organizations in future events or discussions on the development of sports.

On July 9, Politico reported that the EU had begun calling for a halt to funding of the International Olympic Committee. Prior to this, IOC had recommended reinstating the Russian Olympic Committee and lifting all restrictions on Russian athletes.

• Russian athletes were banned from international competition in February 2022, following the start of Russiaʼs full-scale invasion of Ukraine. At the time, the International Olympic Committee recommended that sports federations remove Russians from tournaments.
• On March 28, 2023, the International Olympic Committee allowed Russians to compete in “neutral” status — without a flag, anthem, or national symbols. The exceptions were active service members of the Russian army and athletes who supported the war.
• At the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, Russians and Belarusians were allowed to compete only in individual sports. At this year’s Winter Olympics, 13 “neutral” Russians competed.

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