Russia accused the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, to participate in a “conspiracy” with Ukraine to exclude their best performing athletes from the Paris Olympic Games of this year.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova issued the accusation after two Russian comedians known as Vovan and Lexus released a recording of a conversation with Bach in which he was falsely led to believe he was speaking to an African sports official. .
Bach said on the call that the IOC had established a special panel to monitor the media and the internet and ensure that Russian athletes who had made political statements in support of their government were barred from participating in the Olympics.
“We have also offered to the Ukrainian side – not just offered, but asked them – to provide us with their knowledge about the behavior of such (Russian) athletes or officials,” Bach is heard saying in English on the recording.
Zakharova posted on Telegram that Bach there was “entered into a political-administrative and, apparently, criminal conspiracy with a specific party” – i.e. Ukraine – “to exclude strong sports competitors from international competitions.”
He added: “IOC President Bach’s relationship with the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine and its officials, and the admission of a ‘petition to monitor Russian athletes’, must be the subject of a thorough investigation.”
Relations between Russia and the IOC have worsened noticeably on the eve of the Olympic Games, in which Russian and Belarusian athletes will compete as neutrals, without their flags and anthems, due to the war in Ukraine. They have also been banned from participating in the inaugural parade.
Ahead of the publication of the prank call, the IOC said last month that Bach had been the victim of a hoax.
The IOC has publicly announced the creation of a review group to evaluate the eligibility of all Russian or Belarusian athletes who qualify in Paris. To be allowed to compete, athletes must not have actively supported the war in Ukraine and must not be employed by any military or security agency.
Source: Ambito
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