BEIJING, March 2 (dpa/EP) –
The president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, showed his support for the decision by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in the Beijing Winter Games that open this Friday.
Bach told reporters that the Paralympic body’s decision to allow the athletes to participate as neutrals was in accordance with its own recommendations and that they “fully respected this decision.”
The CPI’s decision, “the most severe possible punishment” it could inflict according to its regulations, was not entirely well received at a time when most other sports federations have banned Russia and Belarus from participating in international events. .
German committee criticizes Russia’s admission to Paralympic Games
Thus, the German Olympic Committee (DOSB) criticized it harshly and considered “the decision of the International Paralympic Committee together with the German Association of Sports for the Disabled” to be “wrong”, according to its president Thomas Weikert.
“In view of the war that Russia, with the support of Belarus, is waging against Ukraine and its people, world sport is resorting to harsh sanctioning measures. Participation based on name change to so-called ‘neutrals’ undermines the intention and the goal of sanctions to counter the blatant violation of international law with globally visible signals,” Weikert said.